The Perfect Plan
by Adeacia
Summary: [ItaSasu] “I want to touch your heart, aniki.” Contains lemons. 8D [Some SasuSaku]
1. Clouds

**Edited author's note:**

This was originally going to be a oneshot, but I had ideas of where to go with this, and thanks to some encouraging reviews, I have decided that I will continue it as a full blow angsty gay incestuous love story YAY!

In the first chapter, Sasuke is 7 years old and Itachi is 15. x3

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**The Perfect Plan**

**ItaSasu**

Chapter 1 – Clouds

"Anikiiii!"

The light patter of those little feet ran along the wooden decking in the garden. I looked up to see him running towards me wearing a cheerful grin and what appeared to be one of my shirts.

"Sasuke, why are you-"

My sentence came to an abrupt end as I had to dash over and rescue him from falling into the small pond. He'd tripped on the shirt.

"Look, aniki! Now I look just like you!"

I was knelt down at his level and he smiled up at me from the embrace I held him in. His eyes were so bright and glittery and his little cheeks so adorably rosy that I had to blink and tell myself how wrong it was to be thinking of him in such a way.

"Why are you wearing my shirt?"

His smile drooped a little, "You're not angry are you? I just wanted to be… like you." I couldn't help smiling at this. He was constantly doing things for me. He idolised me. He wanted to be just like me. He would scribble on paper with his yellow crayon and present it to me, explaining that it was an intense battle between myself and an S-rank missing nin – here were the shuriken in the air and there was the headband and there was him fighting alongside me. To anyone else it would have been just a bunch of yellow scribbles, but to me it was a reminder of the feelings I shouldn't have.

He was my brother. There can't be anything more wrong than feeling more for your brother than companionship. He always made me happy. His cheerful little personality always brightened up my day. But this was a feeling that only _I_ could know. If anyone else found out… if _he_ found out… what would he say?

We were already closer than most other siblings. He often came to hug me for no reason. I'd always ask him "why?" and he'd just shrug and smile. Most nights, he'd creep into my room and I'd feel his slight form cuddle up against me. I would find it difficult to sleep on the rare occasion where he didn't join me for some reason. I couldn't find comfort in my bed without that little warm person laying beside me.

The thing was… he was so innocent. He couldn't understand what this really meant and I certainly didn't want him to. To him, I was just a very close family member.

"Sasuke, that shirt is too big for you," I said, releasing him from my arms so I could roll up the sleeves to reveal his little hands.

"No it's not! Auntie said I'm growing up really fast so it'll fit really soon! Aniki, I'm bored!"

I rolled my eyes. Only he could change the subject so suddenly like that. "What do you expect me to do about it?"

"Teach me shuriken!"

"No, I've just come back from an S-rank-"

"Please?"

"Tomorrow," I said, flicking his pale little forehead. He rubbed his head and I saw the sparkle disappear from his eyes. His mouth curled down and his eyes began to shimmer from tears.

"Sasuke, stop, you're too old to be crying." He ignored my words and clung to my waist, sobbing.

"Aniki! You always say that, but you never do! Just this once I want to do something with you!"

I prised him from me using one hand, but both his caught and gripped it as he looked up at me with tears on his face. I couldn't bear seeing him like that and he damn well knew it. Too many times he'd used that on me, knowing I can never help but give in. This time was no exception.

"Okay. I'm too worn out after my mission, but I'll show you something." His hands clasped mine tighter and his large, dark eyes lit up.

"Really!"

I picked him up and jumped up onto the flat roof of our house before laying him down on his back there. I sat down beside him.

"Look at the sky," I said.

"Why?"

"Look at the clouds."

"Aniki, I don't understand."

"Can you see that cloud?" I pointed, "It looks like a bird."

He was silent for a moment as his mind processed what I'd just said and he stared at the cloud, trying to figure out what I meant. I watched his face. He tipped his head sideways slightly as he thought and his young brow creased in concentration. Then his teeth bit down on his bottom lip in determination.

Suddenly his eyes widened, "Oh! Oh! Look, nii-san! That one looks like a heart!"

His pointed finger waved frantically at the sky and I couldn't tear my eyes off his impossibly adorable face. He looked so delighted. I began to move my arms to hold him, but I was opposed by a voice in the back of my mind, _"No. Don't do it."_ Damn… why do I have to feel like this? Why do I have to go one step too far and experience this forbidden love? Why me?

"Is your heart like that?" he said, bringing me back from my thoughts, "I wonder if your heart is fluffy like the cloud, aniki!" In his moment of excitement over the heart-shaped cloud, he grabbed my hand again. So warm… so soft… it felt so reassuring but at the same time, the voice was telling me "_no, it's wrong."_ I just wished he wouldn't do things like that. He would never understand how it hurt me.

If only the circumstances could be different…

If only we were older…

If only we weren't brothers…

I just wished that something could happen and make everything different. If my family didn't exist, it might be easier for me to have him. If he didn't know we were brothers…

"I want to touch your heart, aniki."

…yes… that would be perfect. And at that moment in time, I was hit with the perfect idea. What did I care more about? My life? Or him? I knew the answer to that question and that was what gave me the idea for the plan. The plan that would make him mine.

He was tugging at my shirt and I stroked his head, making him grin.

"You already have."

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**Authors after note: **Oh yeah, "aniki" means "big brother" and "nii-san" means brother. :3

So what do you think? I hope you like it so far. Next chapter is going to be a time jump woooo. Thank you for reading!


	2. Empty

**The Perfect Plan**

**ItaSasu**

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**Author's note:** Zomfg thank you for the comments ;w; Thanks, you were very encouraging and I really appreciate it !

Extra special thanks go to **Naitachal666 **though, for the awesome suggestion. Thank you! You have inspired me, truly! Thanks to you, I have a much clearer idea of what I want to put in my story (3 And I shall be continuing this story! It will be longer than Shinonome, and likely more than the 10 chapters I talked about.

Anywhat, I'll stop rambling and give you chapter 2! xP

Sasuke is now 16, which would make Itachi…. Umm… u.u"" 23. Yes, 23. 8D

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Chapter 2 – Empty

A fish.

I let out a comfortable grunt as I put my arms behind my head.

A dragon.

There I was again, as I was every morning before training. I don't know why, by laying there on my roof always made me feel calm and relaxed.

A tomato.

Whenever I felt distressed or angry, I would go to my home, lay on the roof and watch the clouds. I could lay there for hours, just gazing at them as they passed over me.

A tree.

It was always somehow reassuring. It's a stupid thought, but somehow I felt like I was always meant to lay and watch the clouds, seeing shapes in them. A part of me felt strangely comfortable, as if I belonged there.

A shoe.

Sometimes I felt like I was being watched. I would sit up and look around, but there was never anyone there. The old Uchiha district was abandoned anyway, so why would anyone else be there? I'd inherited it, being the only Uchiha left, and I felt it would be wrong to let any other people inhabit it. The ghostly stillness was somehow comforting.

A chair.

I don't remember the day my clan was murdered. I don't have any memories before that day. All I remember is waking up in a hospital, surrounded by concerned nurses. "Where am I? What's going on? Who are you?" I'd asked. They told me I had amnesia.

A dog.

All I knew at that time was my name, Uchiha Sasuke. They explained to me about the massacre of my family. I can't remember my family. I only have pictures, but I'll never know what they were really like. I'll never remember what it's like to be loved. I'll never remember what it's like to have a family.

A cup.

And I often find myself asking the question, "Why am I alive?" How do I answer it? Why am I the only person who survived? Why did I wake up with only a small cut on my shoulder? I don't know who wiped out my clan. All I can imagine is that they were a very twisted, sick person. Were they deliberately trying to crush me by leaving me alive? Why did they take away my precious memories?

A kunai.

Sometimes, I just wish my memories could return. I wish I had some idea of what life was like. There's a huge part of me missing, a massive emptiness in my heart. I lost everything and everyone who was precious to me and I lost what memories I had of them. This fact is what made me decide on my path in life. I would become a shinobi and I would become the most powerful shinobi I could be. I would train long and hard every day. And when I found the person who stole my life away from me, I would kill them.

A fan.

Maybe I could kill _their_ loved ones and they would know how it feels! Then again, how could anyone love someone so cruel and evil?

Now, every day I visit my house, hoping and praying that being there would spark my memory and I could heal the gaping hole in my soul.

A kite.

It's strange though, because when I looked at the pictures in my house, there was always my mother and father smiling. But what really got to me was how there was always a blank space in every picture. Someone had been deliberately cut out of the photo. It wasn't me. It was someone else… There was always this faceless person. Who was he? His body told me he was about 15 years old. Why wasn't his face there? I'd searched everywhere in my house for some photo that he hadn't been cut from, but there were none. I'd queried my sensei, Hatake Kakashi, and even my teammates Uzumaki Naruto and Haruno Sakura about it. When I did, they told me they didn't know. Though, there was something in Kakashi's eyes that unnerved me. There was always a distant look in his eyes when I mentioned the no-face. If I pushed with questions he would just stop talking.

A frog.

Who was this person? Why wasn't he in the pictures? Had I known him when I was younger? As far as I know, I was an only child. But, is there the possibility I had a brother? Or a cousin? I just wish I could recall my memories and everything would be clearer. Shortly after waking in the hospital and upon discovering this person, I had given him a name. I don't know why… I was young and foolish. I'd called him Sora, meaning "empty". Because he was as empty as I was. He had no records and he had no memories. He was just like me. And that's what drew me to him.

A cat.

When I was younger, I used to have pretend conversations with Sora. We used to talk about our missing memories. I used to play games with him where we would go on a mission to find our memories. When I played, I used to cry. I knew there was no way I could remember. I would feel the cold emptiness creep back into me. I was reminded of how alone I was. I stopped playing with Sora.

A shuriken.

I'm now 16. I have spent every day since I woke up training hard and studying. I graduated from the academy with the highest scores when I was 12. I became chuunin at 14. I became jounin at 15. I became ANBU with my comrades Naruto and Sakura on the day I turned 16. I like to think that I will one day be strong enough to have my revenge on the murderer of my family. I will avenge my family, and I will rescue my memories. I don't know how I will find the killer, but I will. I will fill the gaps in my life and I will find out the identity of Sora. He doesn't deserve to be forgotten in such a way and I will make it my duty to recover his records.

A bird.

I feel drawn to him in a way I can't explain. The ambiguity of his presence makes me feel closer to him. Something inside me tells me I once was close to him. I may even have loved him. The thought of him is what wakes me each morning. The thought of him is what has stopped me from giving into this world. The thought of him is what has lifted my spirits in times of sadness. So as I watch the clouds each day, I like to imagine him there with me. I like to imagine him pointing out shapes in the clouds. We both smile and think about how wonderful it is to remember. But still, when I look over at him, he isn't there. No face, no nothing. He's so far away from me, but that is what spurs me on and I feel that by finding him again, I can find my memories and I can find love.

A heart.

I don't know how. I don't know why. I just know.

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**Author's after note:** Yeah it's a little bit far fetched. xDD And uneventful! xO But it's vital to understanding what the pants is going on. X) And yeah, forget the humour bit, this is already turning out to be dark and angsty. xD But we all love angst really. Well, I hope so, otherwise no one's gonna want to read this. n.n""

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	3. Masked Emptiness

**The Perfect Plan**

**ItaSasu**

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**Author's note:** Finally! FF is back online! Is it supposed to go offline like that? It's pretty annoying. 8(

Thank you again for the nice comments! ;w; I heart you all very much ! Darn heart symbol doesn't work on here.. waaaah I'm finding it difficult to survive without being able to type it. xDD;;;

Anyway! –sweatdrop- Let's get this story under way, shall we? 8D

Just to let you know, I actually write the before note before the chapter, so at this point, even _I_ am anticipating the next part! X) Okay! I'll shut up and write the chapter now. xO

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Chapter 3 – Masked Emptiness

As usual, I arrived at the bridge –our meeting point- ten minutes early, wearing my new ANBU uniform for the first time. I leant against the railing and waited for my team to arrive. I felt a shiver run down my back. Everything was so quiet; the air was so still. I couldn't see a single bird in the sky. I couldn't remember seeing anyone on the streets either. It felt like the village was waiting. Everything around me was waiting for something. It creeped me out. I could sense something different around me. I looked up to the clouds for reassurance, but even _they _had stopped. It was like the whole world was holding its breath in anticipation.

It wasn't until a few seconds later I realised that I was holding my breath too. I released it in a shuddery sigh. _"Damn," _I thought, _"What's wrong with me?"_

Just then, Naruto and Sakura arrived together.

"Good morning Sasuke-kun!"

"Hi, dumbass!"

"Yo," I said, glancing over at them and suddenly feeling another inexplicable shiver up my spine.

The kyuubi boy came over and punched my arm lightly, "Hey Sasuke, you look like you've just seen a ghost! Or maybe you're afraid that I'm gonna beat you up today!"

"Don't touch me," I said, shaking him off, slightly irritated.

"He's right though," the soft voice of my female comrade, "You do look very pale, Sasuke-kun. Are you sick?"

"I'm fine," I replied firmly, now feeling angry. I _was _fine. What was their problem? I wished they would just mind their own business.

Naruto jumped back and pointed at me, "You're LYING!"

What the hell? My eye twitched slightly as I felt my annoyance rising, "Shut up, usuratonkachi, before I have to break you."

"Argh, you started it!" he cried, flailing his arms in my direction.

"_You _started it, baka," I rolled my eyes as I put my hand over his face, holding him away at arms length. Even at 16 years old, he was as childish as ever.

"Stop it you two," said Sakura, "We've only been here for a minute and you've already started arguing. Can't you just get on for once?"

Naruto stopped attacking and started grumbling something alone the lines of, "idiot…" grumble grumble, "Sasuke", mumble mumble, "beat him to within an inch of his life". I decided to leave him to it.

At that moment, Kakashi arrived, jumping down in front of us. He looked at us in that lazy way of his as we stared back in shock. …was this the first time he wasn't half an hour late?

"What's wrong with you kids?" he asked.

Naruto immediately jumped in and started yelling in his screechy, half broken voice, "Kakashi-sensei, you're not late!" He started prodding and tugging at our team leader, "You can't be the real Kakashi – what have you done with the-"

Kakashi knocked him back, onto the floor (which satisfied me somewhat) and spoke as if nothing had happened, "You have a very important mission today. This is your first super difficult S-class ANBU mission and you'll report to the Hokage's office for a full briefing."

I couldn't help but feel slightly excited. This was my chance to see how strong I had become! Now I could fight elite criminal ninja and justify my own power, and prove whether I was ready to avenge my clan or not.

Sakura gasped enthusiastically and Naruto started cheering and dancing in the background.

"Furthermore," he continued, "From this day onwards, you are a three man team and I will no longer be your sensei. You are strong enough to fight your own battles now and won't be needing my help. This is why you will carry out your first ANBU mission as just the three of you."

"Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura said in surprise, "But we need you!"

If that was to happen, who would be our leader…?

"You will need to decide between the three of you who the leader is to be."

Naruto waved his arms, "Me! Me! I'm the strongest!"

"The leader," said Kakashi, "Needs to be strong, quick-witted and intelligent."

"That puts you out of the question then, Naruto," Sakura said, smacking him on the head to stop him from hopping around. I silently agreed with her.

"Sasuke-kun," she said, turning to me, her hands clasped together by her chest, "I don't want to offend you, but you can often be easily provoked and can sometimes lose your temper, making you do things without thinking." Excuse me? "Which is why," she went on, "I think _I _should be the team leader."

Before I could speak, Kakashi broke in, "Then it's settled. Sakura is the most suitable leader of the three and from now on you boys will follow her orders."

I couldn't help but feel furious at this decision. Sakura was the weakest in our team, and I definitely wouldn't enjoy being ordered about by someone so inferior to me. She was also very annoying.

"You'd better report to Hokage-sama," he said. "Before she decides to demonstrate her horribly powerful strength on you."

We nodded in acknowledgement and made our way to the large building in the centre of the village. So this was it, our first_ proper_ mission. We no longer had a sensei. From then onwards, everything was up to us, as a team.

We were let in as soon as we got there. As usual, she was sat at her desk, almost obscured by the stacks of papers. We stood in front of her, looking over the tops of the paper. She decided to stand instead.

"So," she said, "Your first mission as ANBU, eh?" she smiled, walking around us. "You've grown up a lot. Some more than others," she glanced at an oblivious Naruto, "But that's not important. I shall inform you of your mission, but I'm warning you, it is far more difficult than any of the missions you have completed as jounin. This is something of a completely different league. There is a very high risk that you may die."

Wow, something so dangerous already? Was this what all ANBU missions were like? I found the prospect quite exhilarating.

"Risking your lives to complete missions is what being in the ANBU is all about," she said, stopping to check a few papers on her desk.

"We can do it!" Naruto said, obviously very excited too. "We're the strongest team in Konoha! We can take on anything you throw at us!"

He was always so confident in himself. "Hn," I said together with a smirk, just to annoy him. He looked at me, determination in his eyes, then turned his attention back to Tsunade-sama.

"So tell us what it is, baa-chan! What are we going to do? Hunt down some dangerous criminals? Recover some stolen secret scrolls?"

"Pipe down, Naruto" she said, her eyes closing in slight irritation, "And don't call me that."

Naruto calmed a little, but kept his fists clenched and grinned widely.

"You have the option of turning down this mission if you do not feel up to it and you will be replaced by another more capable shinobi."

Yeah, like _that _was going to happen.

"U-um…" Sakura stuttered, shifting every ones eyes onto her. No way, she wasn't going to pull out, was she? "Tsunade-sama…"

The Hokage looked up from her papers, "Sakura, you don't feel you can do this?"

"Um- no that's not it. I… it's just… do _you _think I am strong enough for this? Sasuke and Naruto have grown so much, and I am so far behind them. Do you really think I can do this?"

Tsunade's gaze softened and she leaned on her desk. "You passed the ANBU examination, didn't you?"

"Yes…"

"Then there's no doubt that you are capable of this. Besides, I haven't even said what the mission entails yet."

"N-no…" Sakura breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank you Tsunade-sama."

I began to feel slightly restless. I wished she'd just get a damn move on and tell us! Enough interruptions already! If it was such an important mission, wasn't it better for us to get out there as soon as possible?

"So tell us what it is, baa-chan!" Naruto cried, clearly as frustrated as I was.

"Fine," she said, her face creasing slightly, "Your first ANBU mission will be an escort mission. You will be escorting your client to the stone countr-"

"WHAT!" Naruto exclaimed, expressing exactly what all of us were thinking. "An escort mission? We haven't done one of them since we were genin! What do you mean an escort mission? We're strong! Why can't we go out and track down escaped S-rank missing nin?"

"Calm down, Naruto!" admonished the Hokage, veins popping up on her forehead, "I haven't even finished explaining the mission to you! Stop interrupting me, or you will have to stay here." At that, he immediately shut up. "Now where was I… ah, yes. You will be escorting your client to the stone country. This requires a passage through a very large stretch of uninhabited rogue territory between countries. The main problem is, that your client believes a certain organization of criminals known as the Akatsuki intend to track and kill him. They are all very powerful criminal shinobi and pose a very large threat to both your client and yourselves."

I raised my eyebrows. I'd heard about this organization before. Akatsuki. Red clouds. Dawn.

No one knew exactly what their goals were, but anyone who stood in their way was not guaranteed a happy, peaceful life. I wondered what our client had done to draw their attention to him.

"Now," the Hokage continued, "You three have been specially requested for this mission. Word has spread of the "New Sannin" as some have called you, and you are believed to be strong enough to take on this mission. I do not doubt this fact, for it is true that you three have surpassed all other teams in this village, with the exception of the original Sannin."

"Who is our client?" I asked, curious. Was he a shinobi himself? I imagined him to be rugged-looking, with scars, wild, unkempt hair and clothes that reeked of old blood. I'm not quite sure why this image popped into my head, but I was definitely interested in his connection to the Akatsuki. He must've done something pretty monumental to cause their anger to be directed at him.

"Kamen… Sora."

My eyes widened, and I swear my heart skipped a bit. Kamen _Sora_?_ Sora_? My thoughts raced for a few seconds until I managed to get a hold of myself. Sora was a name I had made up. He didn't really exist. He was dead - along with my clan. There were bound to be other people with the name. It was just a coincidence.

Suddenly I sensed movement behind me. I turned round to see a tall, dark figure step forward. What? I hadn't sensed his presence at all! When did he arrive? Had he always been there?

I swallowed and took in his appearance. This client of ours was nothing like my mind's image of him. He wore a large straw hat, with strips of fabric dangling from it, shading his face. I also noticed a small collection of shiny objects hung from the hat, chiming slightly as he moved. I couldn't see his features, though I swear I noticed a red glint somewhere amid the darkness that was his face. This man was tall, wearing a long, plain black cloak that reached just below his knees and the collar was high, obscuring the lower half of his face. My eyes moved down his body. His sleeves were long and loose and he kept his hands inside them, his arms hanging loosely at his sides. I looked down to his feet. They were sandaled. I also was shocked to notice dark purple nail polish on his toenails. What a weird guy… no wonder the Akatsuki wanted him. He had an overall lazy stance and yet I felt there was more to him than meets the eye. He gave off this odd feeling of power and at once I felt dominated and even a little afraid. This wasn't just some ordinary guy – he was really something. From this impression he gave, I wondered why he even felt he needed us to escort him.

Something struck me, though. There was something strange about the way he held himself… just… it was difficult for me to comprehend at the time. Something so… familiar about him… I was bemused. His name was Sora. …_Sora… _

I was shocked when I suddenly realised what was troubling me. The way he stood – so laid back – was almost exactly the same as the way _my _Sora did. How could that be…? But then again, Sora _is_ quite a common name. _My _Sora was dead. It couldn't be him. It just had to be put down to coincidence.

"Ohayou gozaimasu," Sakura said, bowing to him, then smiling. I knew her too well to be fooled by her faux smile. I could tell that she was feeling uneasy. Naruto was also unusually quiet. Kamen Sora didn't return the greeting. In fact, he didn't even move… it was like he'd never heard her.

"Your client chooses to remain silent," Tsunade explained, "He does not desire to converse as he wishes for you to remain focused on the mission at hand."

"But we haven't started the mission yet," Naruto said, confused.

"Yes you have," she replied, "Go and pack your bags. You've got fifteen minutes."

At this, the three of us left immediately, exchanging anxious glances before we set off in the directions of our homes. I was packed within seconds of arriving at my house. Spare weapons, soldier pills, a change of clothes just in case and some food that would stay fresh for at least a week. As I was walking out the front door, I noticed a picture frame. I looked at the photo inside it. My mother and father were smiling and next to them stood _him_. Sora. A younger version of myself stood in front of him. Once again, he had no face, but something about this photo made me gasp. I hadn't noticed _that_ before… I dashed over to it and looked closer. Yes! There it was! The face hadn't been completely cut out. I was able to see the very tips of his hair. I pressed my nose up against the glass as I examined it. Whoever had cut him out had missed that. The hair was black, like the night. I felt a strange mix of emotions. Shock, fear and excitement. Perhaps this was enough to help me find out Sora's true identitiy!

Before I knew what I was doing, I'd taken the picture down, pulled out the photo and stuffed it into my bag. I'm not sure why I did it. Maybe I felt somehow comforted by it now that I knew something about Sora. I don't know…

We met up at the large gate leading out of Konoha. The Hokage and Kakashi were also there, along with Kamen Sora.

"Come back alive," said Kakashi, "I'd like to see you again at least once." He smiled pleasantly.

Naruto laughed, "We'll complete the mission in no time! We'll be seeing you tomorrow when we get back."

Sakura hugged Tsunade -her real sensei- and waved to Kakashi. I shared an understanding look and a nod with him, and then we all turned to face the world outside our village.

This was it. The mission, which would change our lives forever.

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**Author's note:** WOW! That was long! xD I'm really sorry about that, but there was a lot to get in! Anyway! Before I rant on, here are a few translations:

Usuratonkachi total moron. Sasuke calls Naruto this a _lot._

Baka stupid.

Sensei teacher.

Baa-chan granny.

Kamen Sora Sora, as we all know by now, means "Empty." Kamen, however… damn this just gives a lot away… xD But, …kamen means "mask". I shall say no more about this. Other than, can you see how it relates to the chapter title? D8 !

Ohayou gozaimasu formal way of saying "good morning".

Right, now those are done, I can rant rant rant! YAY! 8D

Well! This chapter was a LOT longer than I intended… xD But never mind. xPPP It took me 2 ½ hours to get right.. omg.. time went by quicker than I expected… last time I looked at the clock it had only been an hour and a half. D8

I couldn't keep the humour factor at bay. I just had to put a little bit in there. Otherwise it would be _too _dark! And besides, we need to experience the lighter moments in this fic where the characters actually have time to joke around and be all happy-happy. xO

Who's this Sora guy? If you haven't guessed already, you might be a bit stupid… u.u"" Even so! I would prefer it if you didn't know, cause then I would be able to keep the suspense. But sadly it's too late now. Well, I guess the last line is suspence-ish enough. X)

"We want ItaSasu!" I hear you wail. Patience, my darlings, it will come in due course. This _is _a romance fic, after all.

I'd better stop now, cause I'm pushing this word count even further. Thank you very very much for reading! (Unnecessary repeated words.. xO Wait, I'm just wasting space again.. shut up! Stop writing! Aghh I'm just making it worse! ToT)

Until chapter 4….. ja ne! 8)


	4. Midnight Encounter

**The Perfect Plan**

**ItaSasu**

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**Author's note: **This particular author's note is rather pointless really, because I forgot to write it before I wrote the chapter. u.u So instead, I'll just tell you that I have no idea what the English name for the "Katon Goukakyuu no jutsu" is. It says in the subs on the anime, but to be perfectly honest, I really can't be arsed to go find it. xD

Oh, and "teme", when added to a name is a _baad_ thing. Not a nice term. O;

Anywho, read on! 8D

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Chapter 4 – Midnight Encounter

We'd been walking for an hour. Naruto and Sakura walked behind our client, chatting, arguing and hitting each other, while I walked by myself in front of our client. The whole way so far, he had remained silent and I felt his eyes boring into my back. I felt uneasy, but masked it as best as I could. There was something wrong with this guy. Something didn't feel quite right. I felt wary around him, but I couldn't say anything to Naruto or Sakura without being in his hearing range – apparently he'd specifically stated in his letter that we must stay within fifteen metres of him at all times – and if he _were_ a shinobi, then there's no doubt he would be able to hear what we said.

So for now, I had to keep quiet and hope he didn't suddenly attack me from behind. He wouldn't be able to try anything while we were in fire country territory, but once we stepped into rogue territory… no, I wouldn't think about that. Come on…! Why was I scared? I was the great Uchiha Sasuke, for crying out loud. Few compared to my strength, so there was nothing to be afraid of.

We walked for so long. Every minute seemed like an hour, every hour seemed like a day. By about dusk, Naruto and Sakura had quietened down until they stopped talking together. We trooped on in complete silence. We reached the border at around nine in the evening and we decided to set up camp there for the night before entering the wild, overgrown stray land. We would use the whole next day to cover as much of the distance as possible, as sleeping there would be very dangerous. Sleeping on the border was dangerous enough anyway and we decided to take it in turns to go on watch duty.

We set up three tents: one for Kamen Sora, one for Sakura and one for myself and Naruto. We would've used a proper fire to cook the fish Naruto and I had freshly caught, but the smoke would have drawn too much attention to us. Instead (much to my displeasure), I used my Goukakyuu no jutsu. After eating, we decided that Sakura should be the first person to guard the camp, so our client disappeared into his tent and I lay beside Naruto in ours. We stayed in our ANBU uniforms so that we would be ready for any surprise attacks.

I lay on my back, staring at the roof of the tent. It was to be a full moon the following night, so there was already a lot of moonlight shining on us. I could see the vague shape of it through the dark green fabric.

I found it difficult to sleep, knowing that Sora was only a couple of metres away from me. If he attacked while I slept, there would be no chance for me. I tried to fight off the thought. I was shivering from cold, despite the fact it was mid-summer_. "Damnit,"_ I cursed inwardly, pulling the thin blanket tighter around myself, _"Now is not the best time to get sick."_ I rolled over and shut my eyes, falling into a light and uneasy sleep.

Before I had a chance to dream, I felt a light touch on my shoulder and opened my eyes to see Sakura leaning over me, holding her mask in her hand. "Sasuke-kun," she whispered, "Sorry to wake you, but it's your turn to watch." I couldn't help but notice how beautiful she had become. She was no longer that whiney, annoying little fangirl. Now she was far more mature (perhaps more so than myself) in both physical appearance and behaviour. So many times I'd found it difficult to keep my eyes off her feminine curves. I didn't love her, hell no. I just happened to be the victim of very excitable teenage hormones. I couldn't be to blame, really - after all she _was_ probably the most desired woman in Konoha.

Over the years, she'd become increasingly closer to Naruto. It was easy for me to see it, watching from the sidelines. Sakura no longer hated Naruto and, I believe, she no longer loved me. She would still look at me every now and then, but I had begun to notice that look in her eyes as she watched Naruto when he wasn't aware of it. He did the same. He loved her, I knew it – he would whinge about it to me all the goddamn day (when she wasn't around), saying things like "Sasuke-teme, stop making her love you and let some one else have her for once!" Well, I can't help it if she fell in love with me. All I ever did was treat her coldly, so what motives should she have for liking me?

Anyway, now, I watch them and there's definitely something between them. When Sakura is around me, she always seems so bashful and awkward, but when I see her with Naruto she is completely relaxed and cheerful. I don't know why I'm describing this observation really because I wasn't in the slightest bit interested in it at the time. I didn't believe in love because I had no memory of ever feeling it and to be honest, I couldn't really see what was so great about it. I'd managed to survive those nine years alone so I didn't see why I couldn't do that for my whole life.

At the time, I did still see reviving my clan as one of my goals in life, but I didn't plan to think on that until after I'd had my revenge.

So, once I had rubbed my tired eyes, climbed out of my bed and put on my mask without waking the sleeping Naruto, I stepped out of the tent and into the moonlit forest. "Goodnight," Sakura said softly to me, smiling out the door of her tent. "'Night," I replied, and she disappeared inside it.

I sat on the grass and prepared for my three hours of watch duty. It was a hot night, and yet I still felt cold. I sat, shivering. I knew that if I went to get my blanket to wrap round my shoulders I would be admitting that I was sick. I'd probably caught a cold (God knows how) but I just hoped that if I ignored it, it would go away. I sat there rubbing my bare arms, silently cursing whoever in ancient times came up with the idea of creating colds.

Though I was cold, my face was sweaty behind my mask. I debated with my inner self whether I should remove it or not for a few minutes and in the end decided I would. I pulled it off and shut my eyes, enjoying the cool air on my skin. I placed the mask on the ground beside me and rested my head on my hand, leaning on my elbow.

I'd been sitting there for about an hour before I sensed movement behind me. Turning quickly to face backwards, I drew two shuriken from my pouch and flung them with pinpoint precision in the direction of the sound. I had no time to put my mask back on. What I was faced with was not something I had expected though. The projectiles were deflected easily and so quickly I couldn't even see the hand move. They struck the ground a few metres away. I looked up to see a tall silhouette with the moon shining brightly behind it. I couldn't see any of their features, but I could tell from the stance and the straw hat that the person was Sora.

"What do you want?" I asked as confidently as I could, hoping it didn't sound too rude. I didn't want to anger him – especially while my comrades were asleep. He gave no reply. I could just feel him looking at me. I had a kunai in my hand, ready in case he attacked. I began to feel slightly vulnerable – strangers and clients were not supposed to know the identity of the ANBU. I'd just broken one of the golden rules by removing it and now Sora knew my face. Shit.

"What do you want?" I repeated, louder this time. Though… I don't know how, but there was something in his silence that told me he didn't intend to attack. Gradually, I lowered my weapon. He didn't move. A breeze blew by and the dangling objects on his straw hat jingled softly. It was a sweet sound, but I didn't like it. It made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

A minute went by. I frowned and tightened my grip on my kunai, keeping my eyes on Sora. He looked off to the side, into the trees, and I found my eyes following his gaze to see what he was staring at. There was nothing there. He drew my attention back to him though, as he turned around and went back inside his tent.

I was left standing there in the night, clutching my kunai and staring at the tent, completely bewildered. What had just happened? Did he come out because he knew I'd removed my mask? Did he have something bad planned out for me? Was he going to use my identity against me?

When I thought it was safe, I flopped back onto the ground, dropping my weapon, my eyes never leaving the strange man's tent. I didn't move from that position at all, until I realised it was Naruto's turn to take over. I yawned and went inside the tent to kick him awake. He groaned and tried to slap my foot away but I moved it before he could. "Get up," I said.

He stretched and stumbled outside, still half asleep.

I didn't sleep a wink that night.

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**Author's note:** Okay, I was going to write more in this chapter, but I figured it was getting pretty long already. xD And it's still only half the length of chapter 3… hehehe….. –sweatdrop-

Anywho, what's that Sora bloke up to? Did he get up to use the bathroom and get embarrassed? Did he get up to have a quick perv at the Uchiha boy we all know and love? All will be revealed in future chapters. 8D

I'm sorry that the Goukakyuu no jutsu bit is slightly incorrect, as Sasuke learnt it from his father and he shouldn't know it now that all his memories are gone, but I'll just dance lightly over that fact and pretend it doesn't exist, like I have just done. B)

I'm going to write the next chapter now! Yay! I'm really having a good time writing this! I hope you are enjoying it too! Thank you for reading and bearing with me, luff j000 –heart emoticon-


	5. Black and Red

**The Perfect Plan**

**ItaSasu**

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**Author's note: ** Well… I can't really think of anything to put here at the mo. u.u Other than, once again, thank you so much to those who reviewed. They're so encouraging and I can't thank you guys enough n.n

This chapter says hello to a little more bodily contact! Wooooo. –pervy look- Hmmm. What _kind_ of bodily contact, eh? Well you'll just have to read and find out, won't you? 8D

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Chapter 5 – Red and Black

We got up as the first rays of sunlight peeked out from the horizon. This was where the danger would truly begin and we had to cover as much ground in the day as we could. The worst possible scenario would be getting lost and/or having to camp in the middle of the rogue land.

"Kamen-san," Sakura said, once our tents were packed away. "Today we must travel as fast and as far as possible. We will run some of the way, in order to get further and we would be willing to carry you if you feel you cannot run."

He pulled his hat down further over his face in a vague "okay-got-it" type fashion. Sakura looked to me for help and I nodded to her. So we set off quickly and spent the entire day travelling. I felt my temperature increasing. I was sweating all over and my body kept alternating between boiling hot and freezing cold. I could feel my nose dripping on the inside of my mask.

After a lunch of bread and cheese Sakura decided it was time to run for a while. "Sasuke-kun, you can lead. You have sharp eyes so you will be able to spot danger before us. I will ask Kamen-san to travel behind Sasuke-kun, then me, and Naruto at the back."

"Hey why do I have to go last?" he groaned.

"Grow up, Naruto," she said, smacking him over the head, "It's because your heightened senses are vital to protecting us from attack from behind. I will do my best to keep an eye out for attack from the sides."

"Oh, well in that case…" Naruto grinned proudly. "Hn," I said, irritated by him as usual.

We ate briefly and then set off. Sora was a fast runner and had a lot of stamina. While I began to lag slightly after seven hours, I could sense that his pace was still strong.

It grew tedious; the same scenery around me, similar trees going past, over and over again. It was almost hypnotic. I was feeling really hot now and I could feel my face burning up underneath my ceramic cat mask. I blinked as drops of sweat trickled round my eyes. I felt so uncomfortable now in my ANBU uniform. All I wanted was to take it all off and dive headfirst into a freezing river to cool off. I began to feel dizzy, and I strained my eyes to look forwards, but the world was spinning and I couldn't concentrate. It was at that moment, that I began to drift out of consciousness and I lost all control of my body. I felt myself trip and I began to fall. I couldn't hear because my heart was pumping so loudly in my ears. I was free falling for what seemed forever until I suddenly felt arms grab me under my legs and round my back. The last things I saw were two red eyes and raven black hair. After that, everything went black.

-crazy mood-spoiling intermission music while Sasuke is unconscious-

When I came to, I was bouncing up and down. Huh…? It took a moment for my eyes to adjust. I looked around and trees were flashing past at lightning speed. I looked at my carrier to discover that it was our client, Sora! I gasped slightly, feeling intensely uncomfortable being carried by a complete stranger. Now that I was able to look up and under his hat, his face was clear to me. He looked fairly young, perhaps in his mid to late twenties and he had pale, unblemished skin. His mouth frowned, from concentration or emotion, I didn't know which. His nose was straight, not too small, not too large. His eyes were what really got to me though. They were such an intense black that my own eyes couldn't compare to them. The shapes of his eyes were unusually feminine: delicate and narrow. He had long black lashes too, similar to my own. Below his eyes, lay two shallow wrinkles. I couldn't tell whether they were from age, lack of sleep or what.

As I was observing him, a thought hit me. When I was fading from consciousness, I could've sworn I'd seen two _red_ eyes… yet looking at him now, there was no way his dark eyes could be mistaken as anything else. There was only one way he could change from red to black quickly and that would have to be… no, he couldn't. My entire clan was wiped out. I was the only one left with that ability, bar Kakashi, my former sensei. Then again, if _Hatake _Kakashi could obtain one, then surely it wasn't impossible for another person to do so…?

My eyes then shot to his hair. Holy mother of crap… it was the blackest hair I'd ever seen, dangerously similar to that of _my_ Sora. Okay, something bizarre was _definitely_ going on here. Something was very wrong.

I only realised I was staring when he glanced down at me. What a piercing gaze! My insides shivered and I suddenly felt very hot. I fell into a daze, my head lolling back again on his shoulder. Damn, the cold must be taking over again. Then, I noticed how I wasn't passing out and it struck me that I wasn't hot from sickness – I was _blushing_! What the hell! Me? The cold, brooding Uchiha Sasuke _blushing_? That confirmed it: there was definitely a flying pig in the vicinity. I bit down on my lip to see if it was all just some weird nightmare. Sadly, I tasted the blood and learnt that it was not. I was panicking inwardly, wondering what the hell had come over me, and swore that when I was on my feet again I would slaughter the pig and eat its wings raw.

…

"_Shit, I'm delusional."_

And then he spoke.

How can I describe a voice? Well, if it were possible to touch a voice, his would feel like the softest, smoothest velvet, which causes shivers at the touch. If it were possible to taste a voice, his would taste like the ripest, sweetest fruit with a delicious juice that lingers in your mouth even after swallowing, leaving a light, pleasant aftertaste.

"You fell," was what he said. Only two words. Two short words. But in that moment, I didn't think any words in the world could compare to the two that had just fallen from his lips. Maybe it was the fever that did it, or maybe I was so overwhelmed his incredible volcabulary; once again, I dropped into unconsciousness.

The second time I woke, I was lying on my back in a tent, with Sakura kneeling beside me.

"Oh! Sasuke-kun! You're awake!" she exclaimed.

It appeared to be dark outside the tent.

"Where are we? What time is it?" I asked, sitting up.

She pushed me back down. "Don't move. We're in rogue territory. We had no choice but to stop here for the night. Naruto is on guard duty right now and Kamen-san is asleep in his tent. You have a bad fever, lay still and I can continue treating you."

She brought out a small pot of what appeared to be ointment and scooped some up on her fingers. Then I felt her cold hands rubbing it in circular motions into my chest. My bare chest… Eh! Where were my clothes? I shuffled my legs a little and was relieved to discover that I was still wearing my pants.

The question "Who undressed me?" was on my mind and it accidentally fell out of my mouth, before I could stop it.

Sakura laughed and blushed, "Does it matter?"

I didn't want to appear like an idiot, so I pressed the question, trying to regain control of the situation.

"I-I did, Sasuke-kun… I had to rub in this herbal balm. Sorry, I can't heal you directly. Healing consumes chakra and I need as much as possible in case of an attack."

I don't know why, but for a split second, an image of Sora removing my clothing instead flashed before my eyes out of the blue and I gasped _very_ loudly. WHAT! THE! HELL! I practically swallowed my tongue in shock and disbelief at the fact that the thought had even crossed my mind! He was a complete stranger! And I had just imagined him _undressing _me! I wasn't just sick physically, it seemed. I was mental too. My cheeks flushed hot again and I ended up coughing like there was no tomorrow for two minutes straight, finishing off the fit with a final explosive sneeze. Sakura lowered her hands from her face, convinced that my coughing had finally subsided and continued rubbing in the balm.

"You should sleep, Sasuke-kun," she said, "You'll feel much better when you wake up."

That's what I would've liked to have done, but it was at that second that the attack came upon us.

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**Author's note:** Listen, before I go into the story I'd like to just take a moment to express my frustration at the phrase "Onyx orbs". Sound familiar to you? I'll tell you what – that phrase is the bane of my life! Is there a single Sasuke fanfic on here that _doesn't _call his eyes "onyx orbs"? What's the deal with that? Does everyone have the same thesaurus or something? xD I, however, will firmly abstain from using such a phrase as my protest because I am a stubborn child and I like to prove points.

…

ANYWAY, moving on…. –sweatdrop- Zomg! Suspense again! xD This is probably the most suspense-y cliffhanger so far. xD Sadly, it's too late for me to write the next chapter tonight so you'll have to wait till tomorrow. xDD Ze suspense gets to me too! ;o;

And oooo-er, Sasuke! What's with him! He's never felt like this before! It's all new to him and he seems pretty flustered, ne? xD

Sora's appearance is revealed! To us, his _true_ identity is obvious, but to Sasuke, with no memories of his past, it's all too much! And the deal with the red eyes, eh? I'm sure you and I know what that's all about, but again, Sasuke is completely stunned. Bwahahahaha.

Oh, and sorry about the intermission, my crazy other half took over for a minute and I couldn't fight it off.

Oh and I also apologise for the humour. Once again, I blame that on my crazy alter ego. ToT I don't know what came over me when I wrote the bit about the pig. I guess I just couldn't help it. Sorry…. –large sweatdrop- I'll do my best to keep the funny factor to a minimum otherwise it's going to ruin the angstyness. To put it simply, I am most definitely criminally insane.

And on that bright note, I shall leave you until chapter 6. Ja ne! BD


	6. Images

**The Perfect Plan**

**ItaSasu**

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**Author's note:** I had an ItaSasu dream last night. xD It was nice. Itachi and Sasuke were in a garden, Itachi was in his younger form and Sasuke was in his 15 year old form. xP It was night time and there was much moonlight. Itachi was standing behind a thistly bush and looking mean. D; So Sasuke said, "Fine, I'll get the apple juice" (It was a dream, you see) and he walked into a nice warm house, but Itachi ran up, grabbed his wrist, twirled him round and kissed him sweetly. Yay! The weird thing was, _I_ was Sasuke, i.e. _I_ was seeing it from his point of view. xD I even felt the kiss. xD So now I know how Itachi kisses. BD

ANYWAY, I'll get on with the chapter shall I? …

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Chapter 6 – Images

I heard Naruto's piercing cry. Sakura was gone from my side in a flash. I jumped up too and ran out of the tent. My team mates were standing there, facing the strangest person I'd ever seen. He was about seven foot tall, with a bulky but muscular build and I was repulsed by his shark-like appearance. In his hand he held a huge bandaged sword and he wore a long black flowing cloak, similar to that of Sora's, only his one had an unusual design of red clouds on it. I realised at once what this meant – the Akatsuki were upon us!

Everyone jumped into action at once. Naruto, as usual, jumped in head on, spinning some shuriken, which were easily deflected by the sword. Expecting the momentum of the sword's swing to slow the enemy's speed, he went in to attack. He assumed wrongly and the large, cloaked man swung back at him, throwing him to the side and smacking into a tree. What incredible strength…!

Sakura had attempted to dash behind him as Naruto distracted him, but he turned at the last minute and punched her in the stomach, winding her. He was able to do such a thing when being attacked by two ANBU!

"Sasuke!" Naruto called, "Where's Kamen-san?"

The eyes of the sharkman lit up at the name. _Shit…!_

"Naruto! You complete IDIOT!" He'd just revealed our client – the man who was trying to _escape_ the Akatsuki!

He clamped a hand over his mouth, reacting too late. Jeez, why did he never think before doing stupid things like that? But, he had a point: where _was_ Kamen Sora? He couldn't still be asleep, could he? Naruto jumped back into the fight along with Sakura and I took the opportunity to look into our client's tent. It was dark in there and it took a second for my eyes to adjust, before I saw the straw hat lying on the floor. Sora was nowhere to be seen.

_Shit!_ I felt myself getting hot again as I desperately searched to the corners of the tent with my eyes, before accepting that he definitely _wasn't_ there.

I came back out of the doorway and yelled, "He's gone!"

Sakura and Naruto gasped and the weird blue man took advantage of the opening to attack. He swung his sword at Naruto once more, who seemed to waver when it came close to him. I began to run towards them, when the enemy grabbed my pink-haired team mate and held the sword to her throat.

"Aaah!" she cried out in a weak voice.

"Stop right there," her captor ordered, "Or the girl dies." His mouth slid into a wide, sharp-toothed grin. I had no choice but to stop where I was. I was about ten metres from them, and Naruto stood between us. The man chuckled cruelly, pulling the sword across her so that the front of her uniform ripped, revealing a light pink lacy bra beneath. She cried out again. Even at a time like this, I found it difficult to keep my hormones under control – I'd never seen a woman's body like this before, and my cheeks flushed hotly. I tore my eyes away from the sight with difficulty and glared at the red clouds on the man's cloak.

"Take your filthy hands off her!" Naruto shouted furiously.

He continued to smile wickedly and I noticed that Sakura's struggles seemed to be getting weaker and weaker. "Give me what I want," he said, stressing each word, "And the woman lives."

"What do you want?" I asked, through gritted teeth.

"…Kamen Sora," he smirked.

"Hn," I said. I knew it. The bastard… I was angry and tense, which roused the familiar sensation in my eyes of my sharingan activating.

He looked at me closely for a moment, not loosening his grip on Sakura. I would attack now. I began to prepare mentally for my attack, calculating my moves… He began to say, "You know… you look a lot like-"

"Don't even think of attacking!"

I looked up into the trees, at the point whence this new voice had originated. I saw another Akatsuki cloak, but it disappeared before my eyes and I sensed his presence behind me immediately. A hand was going to make contact with my left side. I twirled round, ready to accurately parry the attack, when sickness suddenly took over. My head spun for a second and because of this sudden wave of dizziness, I moved one millimetre too far and he caught my arm, slamming me onto my knees, facing away from him as he held my arms in a lock. There was no way I could move. _Fuck…_

Naruto cried out my name and I looked up at him through my dark bangs of hair. He was in between the two of us. He was desperately looking back and forth, clearly unable to decide who to go to the aid of.

"Just try to escape," my captor behind me said, "And I'll kill you."

I cursed, as he pulled harder, shooting pain up my arms.

"If you save the girl," he said, now directing his words at Naruto, "The boy will die. If you save the boy, the girl will die, yeah." He snickered, "Who do you love more? Who do you want to rescue? Who will you leave to be killed, yeah?"

The other man began to laugh too, "Dei, you're cruel."

"Let go of me, _teme_," I said in a low tone, "Or you'll regret it."

"Heh," was the reply, "You're not in a position to be making threats, yeah." He yanked my arms further into an unnatural angle and I bit down on my lip to stop from crying out.

We were stuck. We three, the _strongest_ team in Konoha, the "New Sannin", were stuck. I'd never thought such an occurrence could take place but I'd just been proven wrong. I needed to think quick. There must be a way to get out of this. If Naruto ran to Sakura, I may be able to swing my legs round and slip from "Dei"'s grip… As long as there weren't any other members of the organization hiding nearby. I hadn't sensed the second man until the last minute, so there was a possibility that others may be around. I looked over at Sakura. Her eyes were closed and she'd stopped moving. She seemed completely drained of all life.

I bit my lip in anger this time at how helpless I was. I'd let this happen and now she was in the clutch of a giant sharkman, with a sword to her throat and her clothes torn, leaving her indecently exposed. I didn't want her to get hurt. I didn't want to see her die. I'd grown to love my team mates and I didn't want to know what it was like to lose them. It hurt me enough to know that my clan had been massacred, even if I didn't remember it and there was definitely no way I was going to let that happen now. I positively did _not_ want to know what it would feel like to lose someone. If anyone was to die, it should be me. I had no memories and I had no family. If I died, the loss would be minimal.

"Naruto…" I said, "Save Sakura. I can handle this."

"But, Sasuke-!"

"Do it!" I yelled, "I don't want to see my friends die. I deserve to-"

Then everything happened at once. The sharkman lifted his sword to cut Sakura and the man behind me began to release my arms to attack. I saw Naruto glance at me and I gave him a sharp stare so that he turned in the direction of Sakura. I sensed the weapon heading straight for my neck and I knew then that my life was over. I would die in battle. Time seemed to slow down tenfold and images of Sakura and Naruto appeared in front of my tightly closed eyes. They were smiling. They were both so… beautiful. Kakashi was there too, grinning over the top of that dirty book of his. Sakura took my left hand and Naruto clasped my right. I'd never felt love in my life until that moment. I realised how precious they really were to me.

I _did_ love Sakura. I never wanted to let her cry again. I swore I would do anything to make her happy. I would _kiss_ her if she asked me to. I loved her.

I _did_ love Naruto. He was so stupid, but that was what I liked about him. He was the loudest, most annoying ninja in Konoha but he was my best friend. He'd always been there for me. I loved him.

The last image I saw was of a dark figure against a cloudy sky, with long hair blowing in the breeze. I couldn't see his face but I smiled. I didn't know who he was, but he made me feel warm inside. I knew that there was something familiar and special about him. I loved him too.

A tear ran down my cheek. I didn't know if Naruto got to her in time. I didn't know if Sakura got killed. Hell, I didn't even know if _I_ had died. There was a moment of nothingness and silence as the cold metal of the kunai touched the back of my neck. It was as if time had stopped and everything around me was still. I felt like I was falling. I felt like I was flying. I felt the cold air on my face. I felt the trail of the tear on my cheek. I heard air whistling by my ears. I saw trees, and I saw the sky. I tasted the damp air. I felt arms that weren't my own around my bare torso and a hot body against my back. I realised in that moment that I was somehow very much _alive_. My feet hit the solid branch of a tree.

"Let go!" I ordered, "Get off!" I felt immediately awkward with a stranger's hands touching my exposed body. I felt warm breath on the back of my neck and I shivered. There was a pause after I'd spoken, when the person behind me said, "You're supposed to be protecting _me_."

I froze. Velvety streams stroked my ears and I tasted the sweetness on my tongue. My face grew hot in realisation. This voice…

I was so caught up, I said aloud, "Sora…"

A second later, I gasped, realising what I'd just done. I'd called him by his informal name. And without the "-san" at the end of his name, I'd addressed him in what would be an intimate fashion. I guess I was so caught up in my emotions – I mean, I'd been ready to die and now here I was in the awkward embrace of Kamen Sora. In that split second, I'd felt so comfortable as to say his name like that- it had just felt… _right. _

He must've been as shocked by it as I was because his grip loosened and I broke free, spinning on my heel to look at him.

The first thing I noticed was that he wasn't wearing his hat. The moon hung in the sky behind him and his hair rustled slightly as the wind whispered around us. The second thing I noticed was his open coat. He wore underneath his coat a simple grey T, with a net shirt underneath. His three quarter length trousers were a darker shade of grey. Round his neck sat a delicate looking necklace. I was surprised by how slender he was. He'd looked so large and strong in his coat and hat, and now he stood before me, completely open to me. I saw from his body that he couldn't be older than early twenties, though his face said otherwise. The lines under his eyes made him appear weary, but his sharp, intense gaze told of an intelligent and youthful spirit. His expression, however, was emotionless and impossible to read.

"---out!"

I came back to my senses when I heard Naruto's voice. I looked down and saw him on the ground, holding Sakura. The sharkman and Dei were gone.

"What?" I called.

"I said, look o--"

It was too late. They were behind me. Before I could react, I felt a thump on the back of my head and for the third time in two days, everything went black.

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Author's note:** Okay! I'm sorry about the shoddy fight bit! I'm not so great at fight descriptions so I kept it short. xD I'm sure a fight against Team 7 wouldn't end so quickly, but I don't have that much patience. So, never mind. This is a romance fic, not an action fic, anyway! x)

Well, I don't have that much else to say, other than that darn Sasuke seems to be getting knocked out quite a lot recently. When did he get so weak –coughanduke-ishcough-? 8o And YAY he _does_ love his team mates! Hurray for slightly implied SasuNaruSaku bwahahaha.

And Sasuke gets closer to Sora. OoooOooOooooOoooh.

I'm going away for the weekend, so if I don't update tomorrow, the next one will be on Monday at the earliest. Well, I'll be off to bed now. Later! 8D


	7. Falling

**The Perfect Plan**

**ItaSasu**

**

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Author's note:** Yes, it's true Sasuke is becoming more uke-ish. xD But it's necessary to uke him up cause otherwise he might not be dominated by "Sora" enough, ne? O:

Kay, I wrote the next two chapters late at night in a notebook at my Grandad's cause I was uber BORED Ya rly. They're super action-packed. And lots of brotherly _bonding_ happens. Bwahahahahaha. 8D

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Chapter 7 – Falling

I woke lying on a hard floor, my back stiff and aching. Slowly, I opened my eyes and took in my surroundings.

I was in a very small, damp, dark cell of some kind and the only daylight was from a small vent near the ceiling. The air was freezing and I was shivering profusely. I felt shattered and could barely move. My nose was running and my face was sweating, informing me that the fever had completely taken me over.

I tried to sit up and let out an accidental "ah!" as pain throbbed suddenly through my body. I was bruised and beaten… The Akatsuki must've kicked me around while I was out cold. I slowly sat up and leant against the stone wall.

"They tried to wake you."

The voice echoed around the small room and as it reached my ears, I thought it was probably the softest thing in there. I looked up and saw Sora sitting with his back against the corner and his arms resting across his knees. I couldn't see him perfectly, but I was able to make out the light in his eyes and the shine on his moist lips… The cloak was gone and I noticed his bare arms: they were strong but slender, much like my own and he wore a ring on his finger.

My shoulders gave a shudder and I remembered my shirt had been left behind, but then something slipped from me. My eyes widened as I realised what it was – Sora's coat!

I threw it off immediately as if it was infected with some fatal disease and shuffled back, feeling very uncomfortable. What was this guy thinking? Why had he helped me so much?

Then I remembered my team mates. I looked around for them but they weren't there. "Where are my team mates?" I asked Sora, sharply. He looked up at me through his black hair before answering.

"I don't believe they are in this building."

I narrowed my eyes at him. He'd better be right because if they were hurt it was _his_ fault and there'd be hell to pay. It was his fault we were trapped there too. I frowned and looked away, now fuming, "You got us stuck here," I spat, "So you can get us out."

The room was silent. Ignoring me, huh? I slammed my fist on the floor. Imprisoned in fuck knows where with a fever and a complete bastard who barely speaks. What the hell was going on? Why had the enemy beaten me about but left me alive? And if they really wanted to kill Sora, why hadn't they done so already? Something was wrong with this…

I shivered again. Sakura probably hadn't had time to apply enough balm to have any effect on my sickness.

"You should wear that coat if you don't want to pass out again."

I shot a glare at him. "Why should you care!" He just looked back with unreadable and uninterested eyes. I cursed obscenely.

We must have been sat there in silence for about an hour before anything happened. A key clattered in the lock, the door opened, and for a moment, the small prison was flooded with light. In came a tall, dark figure with a massive sword over his shoulder. I recognised him to be the sharkman.

He closed the door and swung his sword. "Another cell has freed up and you're moving, boy. The previous occupant… passed away." He snickered and advanced on me.

"I'm not going anywhere with you," I retorted.

"Then I shall have to just kill you, shan't I?" he replied.

I jumped up and backed up against the wall, feeling for my kunai but it wasn't there. I must have been stripped of weapons. So I came to the conclusion that I would have to dodge. He swung at me and I dashed out the way, narrowly missing the huge blade as it smashed into the wall. Huge cracked radiated from the point of contact like the legs of a giant spider. I would die if I got hit directly by that - especially considering the state I was in.

He turned and smiled before suddenly jumping forwards and launching a second attack. I escaped at the last minute but only just. The sword, despite being covered in bandages, managed to scrape my shoulder and I felt the weirdest sensation: it was as if my strength was being sucked right out of me. I felt normal again as it left my skin. I knew this feeling.

My mind went back to the preliminaries at the chuunin exam years ago; my opponent had tried to absorb my chakra – this was the same. So that was the power of his sword…?

I was horrified as grunting sounds came from the now wriggling blade. It was as if it was alive! It's wielder laughed at my expression. "My Samehada likes the taste of your chakra. Won't you share some more?" He swung again and I dodged under it.

I was too late.

I cried out as it shaved a layer of skin from my back. My breath was forced out of my lungs and I gasped as chakra was dragged out of me. The second it broke contact with me though, I was able to run past him and stand where I'd started off. Blood trickled down my back and legs.

The sharkman laughed, "You won't be able to dodge the next one, kid." He was right. I had barely enough energy left to just stand. That weapon of his was very troublesome. I'd never be able to take him alone.

I remembered Sora then. If he was so keen on helping me all the damn time, why not now? I had no time to think because the sword came down on me for the last time. I began to move but it was in vain and I heard the thump as something made contact with me.

But it wasn't the hard, heavy blade I had been expecting. Instead, it was warm and soft. I fell onto my back and the body landed on top of me.

Then, I felt something _really_ strange. It was something I hadn't properly experienced before, but for a brief second warmth and bliss rushed through my body… from the point of my mouth.

Wait…

…huh? What was this?

…

Oh… no…

I turned my head to the side, breaking contact but he didn't move. He'd been completely knocked out. And he'd caught my mouth in what was my second ever (accidental) kiss…! Even more, it was with _another_ guy! _Even more_, it was with _Kamen Sora_! **_Even more_**, I was _shirtless_! Aaagh!

The sharkman was laughing. "Hahaha… and I thought the younger one would be quicker to beat. Well, I'll just move this one then." He bent down and pulled at one of Sora's feet.

I don't know why, but I found myself gripping onto him, using my last ounce of strength to keep the blue man from taking him. I felt somehow relieved to know he was alive as his light breath rushed over my neck. But it was just relief. It's not like I enjoyed it. He'd stolen my second kiss (even if he was unconscious at the time) and I definitely hated him for it. With a strong tug, he was pulled from me and he slid off me. His body was lifted up and carried out the room and the heavy door slammed shut, shaking on its hinges. It locked and I listened to the sound of footsteps fading.

Once they'd gone, I was struck with cold again and my mind went to the stinging on my back. The cut wasn't _too_ deep but I really _was_ going to pass out again if I didn't warm up soon.

I remembered Sora's coat, seeing it about a metre away. _Damnit…_ reluctantly, I reached out and dragged it over me. Then I clutched it tightly around me. It smelt like peaches and I blushed furiously. I was only wrapping myself in it because I was so cold. I wasn't _trying_ to breathe in his smell! …I could still taste him on my lips. Why was I so bothered about it? It wasn't really a kiss – more like the crashing together of mouths as he fell on me. It hadn't meant anything… _What's wrong with me?_

How could I be so bothered by him? I knew nothing about him. I'd only been with him for 24 hours and the only thing I'd learnt was his name and yet there was still something not quite right about that… why was I thinking about him so much? Oh, I was probably freaked out because of his name. "Masked Emptiness"…? What kind of name was that? Why would your parents call you such a name? There had to be something behind it…

My stomach groaned, letting me know that I was starving – I must have been in there for at least a day. I rolled onto my side and curled up in order to conserve as much heat as possible.

Where was Sora? I was only wondering this because I was curious. I didn't care if he got hurt. _Shit, why am I thinking about him again!_

I forced him out of my mind and shut my eyes, hoping desperately that sleep would claim me soon.

**

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Author's note:** o.o….!

So there it is! They've kissed! Zomigosh! xD First of many, we hope? Hmmm… xD

Well, there's a slight twist in the next chapter, but I think we were all expecting it anyway. But you're gonna have to wait a couple of hours for it cause I _really_ need to take a shower. LOL.


	8. Patience

**The Perfect Plan**

**ItaSasu**

**

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Author's note:** Okay, this one is slightly different. And a bit shorter… I think? I haven't typed it up yet so I'm not sure. xD Well, it looks short in my notebook.

I like to call my document names highly educated and clever titles. Such as "ssssddfdd", "aassshdhkjhsj" and this title, which is my particular favourite "dfdfdsssssssssssggggoog". Well there you go. A happy little fact for you to think about and impress other people with at dinner parties.

Thanks for the reviews, darlings. You make my day happy happy. –love and hearts-

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Chapter 8 – Patience

I slept uncomfortably, until I was roused by something as it hit my head and a moment later I heard a door slamming shut. Oh, my cell door.

I opened my heavy eyelids to find a small roll of bread. My empty stomach yelled at me to eat it and I immediately wolfed it down, too hungry to worry if it was poisoned or not. It was stale, but it tasted good nonetheless. And I don't think it was poisoned.

As I ate, my mind wondered once more to Sora. I felt my face grow hot again as I remembered the kiss. I cursed, wishing I would just forget it… I wondered where he was and If they'd hurt him any more. Had they fed him too?

My body felt slightly rejuvenated after my restless sleep, but my mind was tired from all the questions constantly buzzing around in it.

"Ugh…" I grunted, trying to bear the recently acquired headache. I wondered if Sora had come round yet. Or had the blow from the sword killed him? Well, the sharkman can't have deliberately tried to kill him, otherwise it would be pointless taking him to another cell… right?

Where was he now? What was he doing?

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Stage 1 complete. I'd got his attention. The next step was to gain his trust. And what had just happened hadn't even been a part of my plan. It had been an added bonus. Though, as I sat there at the table, I found myself putting my fingers to my lips, smiling inwardly. In that moment our mouths had touched, I'd felt the ultimate release. Something I'd only dreamed of doing had happened so suddenly and so quickly. He was much softer and sweeter that I could ever have imagined. The kiss was only fleeting and I wished I could have enjoyed it for longer.

"I don't know why I'm going along with this," Kisame said from across the table. "It's just amusing to see if it's a success or not. Makes this life slightly less boring."

I watched him closely as he tore away at the fish with his razor-sharp teeth. He was half monster, so I accepted that he didn't fully understand my motives and what my plan was about.

"It won't fail," I said firmly, looking down to my plate, picking up a portion of fish with my chopsticks before putting it into my mouth neatly and eating it.

Four of us sat at the table, the other two being Deidara and Sasori. I sensed they were certain my plan would fail but they would never outright oppose me. They thought it was sick. They thought it was twisted. I hated them for it, longed to kill them. I couldn't though, because they were vital to my scheme and I needed them. They were only really going along with it because they knew that if they went against me, I would kill them.

But my plan would not fail. I hadn't sat around doing nothing for eight years. Everything was planned down to the finest detail. I'd replayed the scenes over and over in my head until I was happy with them. It was the perfect plan.

I wanted him. And when I wanted something, I would make sure I got it.

It had all started that day watching the clouds. I'd never forgotten his words: "I want to touch your heart, aniki." That was the day the plan hit me. It was as if it had fallen straight out of heaven and onto me. I loved him more than a brother but little Sasuke was too innocent. If he knew my _real_ feelings, what would he do? I hadn't wanted to taint his purity. And I hadn't wanted the clan to hurt him because I loved him. If I'd tried anything then, he would have been the victim of it and I could have ruined his life.

That was why I killed the clan. I did it for him. I had to eliminate the cold stares and whispered words. Using my Mangekyou Sharingan, I took away his memories – if he knew I was his brother, he'd hate me. If he knew I'd killed the clan, he'd definitely try to seek revenge on me. It was so risky and could easily go wrong, but I wanted him so much that I'd do anything to have him.

My back was stinging, but that pain was necessary to the plan because Sasuke had to believe that I'd hurt myself for him. That was the key to gaining his trust.

"So, Uchiha Itachi," said Deidara. "When are you gonna go _'rescue'_ him?"

I just looked at him. I hated when they questioned my actions like this. I would go when I wanted, when the time was right. If I was anything, it was patient. I would do everything in my own time and with the utmost care and precision. If anything went wrong, my chances for success were ruined. I would be diligent and as long as everything went smoothly, the prize would be sweet.

He still had my coat. I'd been wearing it for eight years now and I felt so … incomplete without it. It made me feel better though when I imagined him curled up under it earlier. I'd tucked it neatly around him so that he'd stay warm and then I sat back and just watched him sleep. It was just like it had been so many years ago.

To him it was just an ordinary black coat but I had created and cast a very high class genjutsu on it to hide the red clouds. So far, it had fooled even the Hokage. Sasuke would have to eventually find out about my connection to the Akatsuki, but that was a long way away.

First, I would make him love me enough to forgive me.

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**Author's note: ** YAAY! Change of point of view! -dances- Well isn't that just something to celebrate, ne? Okay, I'm annoying even myself at the moment, so I shall calm down a bit. –takes a deep breath and eats a potato chip- 

Woah, and it's tiny. xP

Right. So was that okay? Itachi's _kinda_ OOC, I guess, but only in that he loved Sasuke. And if he didn't this fanfic would be completely redundant. 8(

I'm too lazy to put anything else in this section today. So for now, I shall say goodnight and adios to you all.

So here it is: Goodnight and adios. Xx


	9. Hot and Wet

**The Perfect Plan**

**ItaSasu**

**

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Author's note:** I'm sorry about the huge delay, darlings. I had nasty writer's block. I still do actually, and I'm just hoping something happens in this chapter. xD Also, big sad things have happened in my life and I was a little preoccupied. :) See my Deviant Art if you're interested. xO

Oh and if you can't wait for ItaSasu fluff (cause it may be a few chapters before the _real_ fluff comes), please check out my other fic "I Wouldn't Have It Any Other Way." It's an ULTRA fluff ItaSasu oneshot. :3

LMAO. The title makes me happy. TwT

One last, more important thing! **There may be lemons later on. Or things of a more _mature _nature. I need to know if you want this, dear readers. I will change the rating to M, and add lime/lemons later, but only if you want me to! I think it would add to the atmosphere and emotion. But what do you think? I really would love to hear your opinions and suggestions. Thank you. :)**

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Chapter 9 – Hot and Wet

So hungry… and thirsty… and tired…

How many days had passed? Five? Six? A week? _Two_ weeks…? Every day was the same; I woke, I ate what morsels I was given, then I slept. I didn't know what the time was, what the day was, or where _I_ was.

I thought there was something in the walls preventing me from using and restoring my chakra because since I'd been there I'd not felt the slightest bit better. I was constantly exhausted, despite spending the whole day either lying on the hard floor or occasionally pacing up and down, thinking. My brain was working over time. I was torn between worrying for my life, wondering why no one had come to rescue me yet and… Sora.

Number one: People only entered my cell to chuck a stale roll of bread at my head and a cup of water. This happened twice a day. I felt awful… this wasn't enough to give me energy and yet it was just enough to keep me alive. Even if I survived on that, I began to grow anxious about my cell. There was no bed and no toilet. The place was only about six metres squared and I had to eat, sleep and relieve myself in the same space. It smelt disgusting. I just wished with everything in me that I could get out of there. For two weeks, it had been all I knew and my hope was diminishing. I needed to get out and taste fresh, clean air.

Number two: My team mates. Where were they? Had they been caught too? Sora had told me he didn't think they were in the building… but how should he know? For all I knew, he could be lying to me and this whole thing was just some big plan to capture me.

I laughed at this. What a ridiculous idea. He was our client and he was trying to _escape_ the Akatsuki. He had no idea what was going on and neither did I. Then, I came to the same question that has been bugging me the whole time: why wasn't I dead? Or more to the point, why was I still alive? Did they need me for something? If they did, then what…? I'd heard they were after the "jinchuuriki" (A/N I can't remember the translation of this word, but it's referring to the creatures with tails e.g. Kyuubi, Shukaku etc.) but I didn't contain one of these. Had they mixed me up with Naruto? Was _he_ supposed to be in my place? ….no, they're smarter than that. The must have a purpose for me… but what?

Number three: Sora. Where was he? Was he still alive?

I tried not to devote too much of my thinking time to Sora. He was our client, and all I cared about was completing the escort mission. I only wanted him alive so we wouldn't fail. Damnit, if he'd gone and got himself killed then we'd fail and get a permanent mark on our otherwise clean records! He would blemish team 7's name of "The New Sannin." And it'd be his entire fault for dying.

As I paced up and down my cell, I went through every possible plan to escape. And by "every possible plan", I mean there weren't any. I had carefully run my hand over every brick in the wall and every tile on the floor, but there was no way of getting past them. If I put my ear to them and tapped, I was able to tell that they were about 2m thick. I could break them with Chidori – yes! But… I had no strength… I tried walking up the walls, but every time I attempted to attach my feet onto the wall using the smallest ounce of chakra left in me, it was sucked out of my feet and consumed by the wall. I wouldn't have been able to fit through that tiny vent near the ceiling anyway.

This was the ultimate secure cell. There was no way out. I'd have to be either let out, or escape when the door was open. Ha… it's not like someone was going to just come along, open the door and go "here you go, mate! I'll just leave this door wide open so you can escape and I'll pretend I didn't see you. :D" Hn.

At the end of my day of thinking, pacing, cursing and other boring, repetitive actions I went asleep again.

I didn't sleep for long, though.

The door opened and I cracked open my weary eyes. In walked the familiar form of the sharkman.

"My name is Hoshigake Kisame. But from now on, you will refer to me as Hoshigake-sama. Got it?"

Huh? My half asleep brain wasn't quiet able to process this sudden introduction.

All that I said was, "Wuh?"

"Get up," he ordered, leaning on his sword.

The sound of the blade on the floor woke me fully and I jumped to my feet. What was he going to do? Release me? …kill me? The latter seemed more likely, unfortunately. I stepped into a fighting stance and opened my sharingan eyes, ready for him. I wouldn't die without a fight.

He laughed, "You look pathetic. I'm not going to fight you. You're not worth fighting in your current state."

"_Whose fault is that?"_ I thought angrily, my back still stinging from his attack so many days ago.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"Why do you care?" I spat.

"I'm going to need something to refer to you as over the next two months, aren't I?"

"What? …Who are you?"

"I've told you that already. And you will address me as Hoskigake-sama or I might have to beat some sense into you." His fingers rippled over the handle of his enormous sword. "Enough questions. Tell me your name."

Should I tell him my real name? What would he do? Well, he must've known I was an Uchiha already because he'd seen my sharingan. Which immediately narrowed it down to me. Being the only remaining Uchiha had its disadvantages as well as its advantages. I couldn't lie.

"Uchiha Sasuke," I said, narrowing my eyes in the most menacing manner I could manage.

He just chuckled, "I know."

I clenched my fist. _"Then why the hell did you ask?"_

"Come with me. We have work for you to do here. It's about time someone else did the work around here…" for one second he had a distant, slightly irritated expression, then he glanced at me before turning and heading for the door. I couldn't argue. I didn't really want to argue anyway because I was so desperate to get out of that hell hole.

I was almost blinded as I walked out. There were dim torches mounted on the walls, which to my eyes that had spent two weeks in darkness, were massive beacons of bright light. I scrunched up my eyes and held my hand over my forehead to block it. I wasn't cold. I wore Sora's coat now. It seemed to be made of some material that was both light and floaty _and_ warm and insulating.

We walked down the corridor, past other cells. I wondered who could be inside them. Was Sora behind one of those doors? There didn't seem to be many cells other than my own though – must've been about ten in total. We reached the end of the corridor and reached a large metal door. Oh? There wasn't a lock or a handle. It just looked like a huge slab of steel.

I watched curiously as Kisame put his hand on the door. A thin lake of chakra poured from his fingers, slowly spreading itself across the entire door. I watched as it reached to all four corners and then-

It disappeared. Just like that. One minute there was an enormous, thick, seemingly inpenetrable doorway and the next… it was gone. Incredible.

Kisame walked through like it was nothing and I followed, eyeing the space suspiciously. The second I stepped past what would have been a door, it reappeared in a puff of smoke. Woah. I didn't have long to think on it though, because the sharkman picked up his pace and I found myself half skipping to keep up.

He led me down some much cleaner corridors, with ordinary sliding doors until he stopped by one. He looked at me, implying that I was to enter first. I glared back at him, but opened the door anyway. What would it be? A torture room? Another cell?

Well, it was neither. As I opened it, steam washed out into my face and once my eyes adjusted, I saw a bath, some towels and a pile of black fabric. There was also an Akatsuki coat hung over the back of a chair.

The large man shoved me in and said, "You've got twenty minutes to make yourself presentable. There are clothes there and you will be required to wear the coat."

"Why do I have to wear _that_?" I asked, disgusted at the idea of wearing the same cloak as the criminal organisation.

He replied, "The leader requests it. Twenty minutes. I'll come back for you. Don't even try escaping unless you want to die."

The door slid shut and I was left standing in the middle of the room, slightly dismayed. What was going to happen? Was I going to be put in front of "the leader"? Who was the leader anyway? Kisame had mentioned something about me having to work… what kind of work? Back-breaking slave labour? Probably.

I walked over to the clothes and picked them up. A simple black sleeveless shirt and trousers. There was also a pair of black sandals. This I could wear… but the very idea of wearing that coat… would that imply that I too was a criminal? I couldn't remember doing anything wrong. But if I was to work for them? Shit…! Did that mean they would send me on missions? Make me carry out their dirty work! Hell no! There was no way I'd let them force me into that. I'd rather die than betray my village.

My mind returned to the matter at hand. A bath… oh God, it looked so good. I was filthy and greasy. There it sat, steaming and bubbling. Without another thought, I flung off my clothes and clambered in. It was fantastic to feel the hot water around me. I sank down under the water, so that I was fully submerged, then sat with only my nose upwards above the water. I was lost in heaven for about ten minutes. Then I suddenly remembered he'd be back soon. I didn't fancy the idea of him returning to me while I was naked.

I hurriedly washed my hair and body, climbed out, dried off and donned the black clothes. I stood glaring at the coat. "The leader requested" me to wear it. Why, I wondered.

"It's not going to jump onto you itself."

…oh… God…

Slowly, I turned in the direction of the rich, velvety voice.

And I yelped. He was sat, staring at me blankly, arms folded, and in the same clothes as myself.

Shock, turned to anger.

"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing here!" I yelled, flushed, "What did you see?"

I suddenly felt very exposed.

"I was always here. You just never bothered to notice," Sora replied, "I saw everything. Not that there was much to see…"

"You- you bastard!" I spluttered, clenching my fists and shaking in rage and humiliation. It was all I could think of to say. How dare he watch me bathe! Pervert!

And now he sat, still watching me.

"You should've said something!" I shouted, "You could've at least have alerted me to your presence!"

There was no reply. Our eyes were locked in an intense staring match. I, giving him my sharpest, angriest glare and he, looking rather uninterested. I looked away first. How dare he do that. How _dare_ he!

I turned round crossly and grabbed the cloak before thrusting my hands into the sleeves and standing there with my arms folded.

His eyes moved to the door, which immediately opened. Kisame.

"Good, you're both ready," he said, with a knowing grin that slightly disturbed me. "Come."

We followed him out, to whatever fate was in store for us.

**

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Author's note: **There you go, a nice long one to make up for my absence. 8) Oooh! Itachi – what a pervert! xDD He must've planned that right from the start. xP Oh wait… he did. xDDD

Again, what do you think about future sexual scenes? I don't write explicit lemons. I prefer it emotional and romantic. But whatever. Opinions and suggestions, kudasai! –hearts-

Thank you very much for reading! Please take time to drop me a review!


	10. Touch

**The Perfect Plan**

**ItaSasu**

**

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Author's note:** Zomigosh! 10 chapters! TwT I like to think it's a big milestone…. And I can't believe I haven't given up or gotten bored yet. Lmao. xD

And, like woah D: _11_ reviews on one chapter! That's amazing! Thank you so much, you people make me so happy! Thanks for all the encouragement! I could never do this without your kind words. .. ;w; This chapter is dedicated to those who have reviewed!

'Kay, this isn't an Oscar speech.. shut up Cia. c.c;;

Thanks for the feedback on lemons! I have decided that there _will_ be lemons! n.n Yay! So I have changed the rating to M. :3 Ahh I feel so mature. 8)

Oh my, just got an email entitled "Men enhancer" o.o;; How… interesting… but I'm sure you don't wanna hear about that! xDDD

Gah, the music I'm listening is WAY too happy for this fic. -changes to the depressing/angsty playlist- ..ah, much better. 8) Even though it doesn't seem to be very angsty atm. Actually this chapter isn't very angsty at all. –changes back- Oh well, it'll get angsty-er later on… bwahahaha. 8D

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Chapter 10 – Touch

We walked down corridor after corridor. It all looked the same and I began to worry whether I'd ever be able to escape one day without getting lost. Kisame led, and Sora walked behind me. I began to feel rather insecure, having a pervert following so closely behind me…

I decided to think of something else.

Kisame stopped suddenly and I was so lost in thought that I didn't notice and ended up walking into the back of him. I jumped back in shock. Shock turned to fear as he slowly turned to face me.

"Pay attention to where you're going, punk," he told me in a dangerous tone. I stepped further back but he withdrew and glared at me before opening the door. I was signalled to walk in first.

A kitchen.

Sora and the Akatsuki member came in after me.

"Right," said the latter, drawing my attention from the pots and pans back to him. "Sora, you are to clean the dishes from earlier then clean the table and lay it for tonight's meal. You, Sasuke, will be required to cook the meal for those members of the organization currently in the building. And you'd better not mess up, because if you do, you can be sure that a few guys are going to have your head off."

I gulped and suddenly I felt very cold. Cooking… I had to cook…?

Why… why…. Why must I cook?

I was Uchiha Sasuke, the boy who could do anything. The boy who succeeded in everything. The boy who was superior to others in every way.

Almost.

If there was one thing in the world that I couldn't do, it was cook. Luckily for me no one else knew about this because I lived alone. At home I would normally eat ready made meals, get take outs or eat out. The thing was, I'd never been taught how to cook and hell, there was absolutely no way I was going to ask someone to teach me! I began to feel slightly resentful of my stubbornness and arrogance then – if I hadn't been so damn proud, I wouldn't be in this situation. Maybe before I lost my memories I'd known or would at least have some idea from watching my mother cook, but if I had, then that knowledge had been taken from me too.

And now here I was, completely dumbstruck. I had to cook for some of the strongest and most deadly shinobi in the world and if I failed, I would die. I couldn't even think straight, because I was panicking so much.

Of course, I never let it show. I stood there coolly, arms folded, wearing my usual detached expression. I wouldn't let the fish know this sad fact in case he killed me there and then. "_Since when did I get so cowardly?"_ I thought. I was in Anbu! I was a high class hunter-nin! I'd killed hundreds of criminals and succeeded in every mission I was given! Why was I so afraid now?

"We're expecting the meal to be ready for ten o'clock," stated the sharkman. "Any later and I'll kill you both. That is, if the others don't kill you first. There will be three of us eating." He paused, the continued, "Well, you've got forty minutes. Do not get this wrong… or you'll regret it… we might even eat _you_ if you taste good enough."

And with a snicker, he left. I felt myself shaking a little and tried my hardest to keep still and hide my emotions in front of Sora. I looked over at him and he looked back, raising an eyebrow. I turned away hastily, taking off my cloak, and headed for a brown paper bag on the kitchen surface by the sink. With a gulp, I looked inside and realised that it contained what would be needed for the meal. I tipped the contents out onto the side. Rice, pork, onions, various spices and various other little things. So I was to cook a curry? Where was I to start? How was I to make the sauce? How long should each thing cook for?

A figure appeared suddenly beside me. Sora had begun to clean the plates. I watched how carefully his hands went. Not a single movement wasted, he was removing the scraps quickly and efficiently. Then I turned my head back to the problem at hand. What to do? I was stood there, stiff, staring at the ingredients. This was going to be more difficult than any battle I'd fought. I cursed silently that I couldn't carry out such a simple task. Sakura often invited me and Naruto to her house where she would make meals that had always tasted amazing. Geez, if _she_ could do it, then surely _I_, the great Uchiha Sasuke who excels in everything he does, would be capable of cooking a curry? Hey, maybe I was a natural, like I was at everything else. Maybe I'd be able to do this perfectly and create the ultimate curry. Sadly, I doubted it.

Just then, I felt a breeze against my back and, instinctively, I looked to where Sora was… or had been. My eyes widened when I noticed the lack of plates and cups in the sink. He'd finished that task already! He'd even put it all away! Just how long had I been standing there? And where had the washing up pro gone to?

I looked to my right and noticed for the first time another door. It was ajar. Curiosity walked me over to it to see what was on the other side. When I looked through, I discovered that it was the room that the Akatsuki were to dine in and Sora was there, cleaning the table. I blinked, and as my eyes opened, he was already straightening the chairs. Woah… he was fast! Was this guy the ultimate household chores master? Well, probably not. _I_ could do that almost as fast, being a shinobi. Sora wasn't _that_ great.

"Shouldn't you be preparing the meal?" he reminded me, looking up. I stepped back, almost impaled by his piercing look.

"I- I- That's what I'm doing!" I said in a voice that was louder than necessary, before I dashed back to the spilled contents of the brown paper bag. I immediately grabbed a knife and one of the onions and started attacking it viciously.

A hand caught my wrist. I followed it with my eyes, to be met by a very belittling expression.

"You're doing it wrong," he said, "Do you even know what you're doing?"

Then, I cried. Well… I sort of cried without meaning to. I wasn't even feeling upset. But for some reason, a tear trickled down my cheek. What the hell! Sora must have noticed my utterly perplexed face because he explained to me, "It's the onion."

I looked down at it, feeling my eyes sting. The onion itself looked like it had just been attacked by a pack of ravenous wolves, but I could feel the acidic fumes pouring from it.

"Try another and I'll show you what to do."

He released my wrist as I shakily reached for another onion. I felt like such an idiot. Damnit… I never made a fool of myself in front of others! I always stayed cool and collected, but here I was, flustered and humiliated.

He moved right behind me and I felt myself blush hotly as both his hands enclosed mine, guiding them and making them cut the damn vegetable properly. I felt bloody glad that he couldn't see my face because I knew for sure that I looked like a complete moron. I caught my breath when I felt _his _rushing down my neck as he looked down over my shoulder to see what he was doing.

Then he spoke again, right by my ear, "You've never cooked before. You have no idea what you're doing. How pathetic."

I was immediately angered by this. How dare he, who didn't even know me, insult me like that! He had no idea about me! My hands clenched into fists.

"You don't know that! I could be the best chef there is! I could have my own restaurant! How could _you_ know? I don't need your help!"

He was silent for a few seconds before replying in his slow and steady voice, "You can't even cut an onion. The proof's right there. And I don't feel like being killed today, so you'd better let me help you otherwise _I_ will kill _you_."

I immediately shut up then and let him finish the chopping.

I'm not quite sure why I let him rule me like that, but I knew that I needed him in order to cook something other than an utter abomination.

So, he demonstrated how to mix this, how to cut that and how to use the gas hob. At the end of the job, he was completely spotless. I however, had somehow managed to get sauce all over my hands and shirt. I was secretly glad that I had removed the Akatsuki cloak earlier because I could use it to hide the marks.

Together, we took the plates into the adjacent room and set out the table. Then, we made our way back to the kitchen to clean up. With the two of us, it was done in seconds.

"Ah, the meal's cooked and everything is clean," I said, breathing a triumphant sigh and smirking at Sora. He looked back at me for a minute, and I caught a glimpse of what could have been mild amusement in his face.

"Not everything," he said, walking over to me.

And then, the unthinkable happened. It felt like everything had gone into slow motion, because his hand lifted up, holding the cloth and I saw it coming towards my face. I screamed inwardly. So this was it! He was going to suffocate me! This was his plan! I'd been suspicious of him from the start and now I knew what he was up to! I shouldn't have let my guard down. I'd been such a fool to accept the mission. I should've known. Now I was going to pay the ultimate price. It was too late – he was too fast! I shut my eyes tight.

And then the cloth made contact with me. With my nose. It lightly rubbed the top of my nose before pulling away again. Huh? I opened one eye and there he was, with the cloth. Suddenly, I felt very angry with him again. What gave him the right to do that to me?

"What the hell was that for!" I snapped.

"You had curry sauce on your nose," he answered, nonchalantly. "You should clean the mess from your shirt soon too before it dries and stains."

I blushed furiously, holding my arms across myself defensively. He'd noticed that?

"Why does it matter to you if I get these clothes dirty anyway?"

"It doesn't. Though I can't imagine Kisame not getting angry at it."

A good point. I snatched the cloth from him. There was a split second of contact between our fingers as I grabbed it and I pulled my hand away from him quickly. Then I scrubbed at the sauce on my black shirt.

"_What's the point? It's a black shirt, you can barely see the sauce anyway. Damn Sora making me look like an idiot again. And why do I feel so weird every time we make contact?"_

It was true. Every time we touched, even if it was only for a brief moment, shivers ran down my spine and my head spun. I couldn't tell if I hated it or liked it. I hated it because it made my legs wobble and my cheeks heat up. I liked it because he was very soft and surprisingly gentle. Shit… what had come over me? There was definitely no way that I was into guys and besides, I had no time for romance when I was working towards finding and killing the eradicator of my clan and my memories. After that, I needed to revive my clan, which, obviously, required a woman. I'd already set my eyes on a mate and I knew that she wouldn't choose anyone other than me.

I had it all planned out: I would avenge my clan, and then I would return to Konoha as a ninja, make her my wife and use her to revive my clan. I'd realised when I thought I was about to die back in the forest that I'd loved her. As a friend. But who knows, if I married her and lived with her long enough, I might feel something more. My main priority was to father as many children as possible though, not to go falling in love. I had no time for that kind of petty emotion when I needed to be focusing on becoming the strongest shinobi I could be. But I knew that Sakura would settle for it, whether I loved her or not.

The sound of a distant door opening startled me from my musings. Then, multiple footsteps. I dashed over to the door to the dining room, opened it a little and looked through. I witnessed Kisame, a blond, long haired man or woman (I couldn't tell which) and a short, brown haired man. They were all clad in the traditional black cloak with its red cloud motif. I waited in anticipation as they sat down.

Once they were seated, they made no signs of eating. Kisame suddenly made eye contact with me, "It's rude to stare."

I pulled away quickly, my back to the wall and drew the door shut.

And so began the wait.

I found myself pacing up and down the kitchen. Would they like it? Did it taste alright? Or would they hate it and come kill us?

Sora was leaning against the kitchen surface, arms folded and eyes shut. He didn't seem in the slightest bit bothered. I was amazed at how he could stay so calm.

Time dragged by and I swear about two hours must've passed. By then, I was leaning on the kitchen surface too, my head in my hands.

The door between the dining room and kitchen opened and there stood Kisame. He looked extra intimidating and I began to have real doubts about the curry. Slowly, he advanced on us before stopping and folding his arms. What was to be the verdict?

He stood there for what seemed an eternity. I began to get rather irritated. However, before I could snap at him, he spoke.

"The meal was…"

I clenched my fists and bit my teeth together.

"…good."

My eyes widened and I let out a breath that I didn't realise I'd been holding. So, today was not the day I would die. I'd never felt more relieved in my life.

**

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Author's note: ** I looked in Word's thesaurus for another word for "perfect" and.. Hahahahaha.. one of the suggestions was "just what the doctor ordered." xDDDDD Can you imagine? _"_Maybe I'd be able to do this perfectly and create the just what the doctor ordered curry." Hahahah hahah… Hehh.. –wipes a tear- …

…

…well _I_ found it funny! xO

And I'm letting that funny factor slip in again! -sobsob- I really have to learn to control that habit.

So, did you enjoy this chapter? ) I had a fairly good time writing it. :3 It took many hours though. xD But good news, everyone! I have a very clear idea of what I want in the next chapter, so you may be seeing that pretty soon! (I'd write it now, but it's 2.30am and I need sleep… u.u"")

Reviews always welcome. 8D Until chapter 11! Ja ne!


	11. Shrinking Distances

**The Perfect Plan**

**ItaSasu**

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Author's note: **Thanks again for the reviews! I'm happy that so many people are enjoying this! I'm really enjoying it too!

Okay, a little amendment. I've replaced the words in my Word Document but am too lazy to update each chapter on FF so from now on, instead of the "stone" country, it shall be the "earth" country. That's because that's what it is. "Stone" is the hidden ninja village. Therefore, the Konoha nin wouldn't even know where the ninja village is. xD

Anywhich, please enjoy chapter 11:D

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Chapter 11 – Shrinking Distances

After that first meal, we were made to cook every night. It always seemed to be a different number of plates because different members of the organization would pass through before going to commit whatever crimes they actually committed. I felt angry, knowing that I was aiding them in possibly hurting and killing Konoha ninja. Few minutes passed where I wasn't worrying about my team mates. Not knowing their location or status made me feel constantly uneasy.

"_Don't worry, guys. I'll get out of here and find you."_

In the kitchen, I worked alongside Sora. I was still clueless, so he led the work, setting me trivial jobs like stirring or cleaning. We'd been in our new job for about two weeks now and every so often I would have brief conversations with him about nothing in particular. I hated being locked up in that building – I hadn't been outside for months – but cooking and talking with him managed to lighten the load just a little bit. He would ask me about myself and I found myself being unable to do anything other than tell him. There was something in his voice that put me at ease and I felt some of my wariness of him slipping away. His sentences were set out in a refined manner, and he never cussed or shouted. He always seemed so calm and I often wondered how he could be so laid back when we were in the custody of the most renowned group of missing nins there was. I would ask him things about himself too and he always gave well constructed, clear answers that seemed to satisfy me. It wasn't until I was in my futon each night that I'd realise he had cleverly managed to avoid all the questions and I ended up learning nothing new about him.

I say futon because we had been upgraded to a new room. We were made to share a very small room opposite the bathroom and at night we'd sleep on our two separate futons. We were allowed to take baths when we weren't working and overall it felt more comfortable. I still had to wear the Akatsuki cloak, which annoyed me, but at least I was out of the cell on the other side of the disappearing door.

During the day when we weren't preparing meals, we were made to clean the rooms, put away various other futons, wash sheets and clothes and generally keep the place in check.

Despite what seemed a relaxed security, we both wore chakra consuming bands on our wrists that had been fastened on by Kisame. These stopped us from using jutsu on our captors. I felt very irritated, being unable to practise my ninjutsu so each night before I went to bed I settled with training my taijutsu. I felt a little self conscious as some nights Sora might glance at me from his bed, but I always tried my best to impress him. I would perform my strongest and most complicated combos in front of him but the impassive expression he wore never changed.

In fact, I'd not seen him smile at all in the time I'd spent with him. I would try hard in conversations to say something that would irritate him or make him happy but he never reacted. A lot of the time he seemed very meditative and wouldn't look at me. When we did converse, however, I felt happy to have his attention. I began to understand the way Sakura felt around me – always striving to get my attention or to get a reaction out of me. I just enjoyed being in his gaze because it always seemed so empty and lonely and I liked to think that I was filling that.

Throughout my life, I'd always hated talking and being with other people because they got in the way of my training but when I was off doing chores on my own, I felt a little lonely. I always took pleasure in the laid back conversations with Sora and found myself missing them if I'd been away from him for more than a few minutes. I'd come to enjoy his company now, despite my earlier suspicions and I felt so much more at ease.

One night after completing our duties, we made our way back to our room. As usual, he went to the cupboard to fetch his futon, while I got into the first stance for my taijutsu practice. I decided to ask him something that had been on my mind for a while, "Why are we still alive?"

He made no sign to indicate that he'd heard me and continued to pull out his sheets before moving to his spot on the floor to set it up.

"Surely they must have some other purpose for us," I continued, hiding the slight irritation at his lack of response. "Why would they capture a powerful shinobi and his client just to do the household chores for them? They could get anyone for that. This is so stupid. I can't understand why I'm still putting up with this. If anyone back in Konoha saw me, they wouldn't believe their eyes. This is so not my style."

I began to punch on the spot, trying to vent my frustration. I was concentrating so hard on it that I didn't notice Sora until he had grabbed my wrist. My eyes flashed to him in shock.

Then, he lifted my fist a little using two fingers and I felt a hand pushing into the small of my back, making me stand straighter. I almost let myself blush – I wasn't used to such contact with other people.

"Your technique is inaccurate and blind. You seem to fight recklessly in hope that you might hit the enemy. That's what makes you weak. You need to learn to be more precise."

I felt immediately angry that he felt he could lecture me so suddenly. "Well if you know so much, then why don't you teach me?" I said crossly.

"I plan to," was his response and before I knew it he was already casting his coat to the floor and standing in front of me. _"No… I was being sarcastic! You can't be serious…"_

"Come at me," he said simply, standing straight, making no move to step into a fighting stance. Well, this was the perfect opportunity to vent my newly regained fury and I launched at him, throwing punches and kicks wherever I could. I was even more exasperated at the way he was just standing there, casually knocking my attacks away with his hands. This made me fight harder, desperate to teach him a lesson for underestimating me so. However, this time he shut his eyes, defending with just as much ease. I was irate now. How dare he mock me like this! How dare he make a fool of me again! What was he? How could anyone so effortlessly block the attacks of Uchiha Sasuke of the New Sannin?

As I aimed a punch for his middle, he lifted his hand swiftly and poked my forehead. I was astonished at his strength as I was thrown back across the room. I found my footing before I hit the wall and stood there, staring at him in disbelief and enragement. There was something weird about the way he'd just countered me. I mean, who pokes the enemy's forehead?

Just as I was about to go to him again, he walked across the small room and bent over, pulling the sheets of his futon back, clearly had enough.

This incensed me thoroughly and I snapped, "Where are you going? I'm not finished with you yet!"

He climbed in and lay down, closing his eyes. "You are weak. There's no point in teaching you when you're too stubborn to focus. Your emotions blind you."

I clenched my fist, "That's not true! I'm one of the three strongest shinobi in the village of Konoha!" It wasn't until I said it that I realised how childish I sounded and immediately resented it.

He rolled over, giving me his back and said, "Then Konoha's standards have fallen greatly."

"What do _you_ know about Konoha's standards?"

He wasn't a Konoha ninja as far as I knew and I'd already given up wondering why someone so much stronger than my team had wanted us to protect him. It just didn't add up.

He didn't reply to me and I felt too angry to train anymore so I stormed over to the cupboard noisily to get my own futon, hoping that by doing so it would annoy him. I dropped it onto the floor heavily, by his head and kicked off my sandals. Still, he didn't do anything and I decided to walk round to see if he was awake. His eyes were open and his face was still inexpressive as he looked up at me. I scowled at him and stood there, staring back. He watched me for a few more moments, then closed his eyes.

I was aware of how much I was acting like a spoilt baby, trying to get his attention. At this realisation, I felt suddenly guilty. What I was doing was just showing him how stupid and stubborn I was about upholding my pride and I was sure his respect for me must have decreased greatly. I dropped to my knees, right by his head and looked down at the floor.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled. A moment of silence passed, along with my anger, making way for a new wave of regret. I didn't want him to hate me – he was all I had in that stupid place to keep my spirits up. Then, I gasped. His hand reached up and lifted my chin a little so he was looking at me. His eyes bore right into my own and I felt him seeing into my very mind. His gaze held me there and I had frozen, unable to break the contact.

"Sasuke."

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**Author's note: ** BwahahaHAAhahaAHaHaahaHAHaaaa! –manic evil laughter- Waahahahahaaaa I shall leave you hanging because I'm evil and this chapter is long enough already. Well, actually, it's short, but pshhhh. xP Plus, I have plenty to put in the next chapter. I hope you liked this one and I really hope that you are looking forward to the next chapter. Who wouldn't be? xD 

Well, I'll leave you here at this awful, awful cliffie. See you in chapter 12!


	12. Untainted Bliss

**The Perfect Plan**

**ItaSasu**

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Author's note: ** I was hit round the head with by the guitar of inspiration today. Metaphorically speaking, of course. I had an idea about Itachi and future happenings… -sly look- Also about something I have just forgotten. Crap. Hold on… -massages brain- No it wasn't that… oh! … No not that either… Oh arse, and it was such a good idea too. :( Got inspired by one of the reviews in the last chapter. Hold on, I'll look through them. Oh well, I remembered one thing I forgot to put in the last chapter, which was about their current food situation. Let's just settle with: Kisame allows them to eat the leftovers, ne? And they always deliberately make too much so that they get lots of leftovers. xD

Awwwww I wanna remember my awesome idea of a lifetime but I can't, which means that I'll typically recall it when it's too late. Crap and arse and poo and merde.

Thank you again for the reviews! Woah! 9 in one day! OoO I could probably get loads more if I left it for a few days, but I am not a review whore and I'm just as desperate to read the the next chapter as the rest of us. xD

**May contain traces of a certain yellow citrus fruit. Don't say I didn't warn you. xP**

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**Chapter 12 – Untainted Bliss

"Sasuke," he said. His voice was quiet and didn't reveal his thoughts in the slightest. I was glued to the spot. He'd never said my name before. It sounded weird when he said it. Kinda… nice. His fingers left my chin and moved back under his sheets as he shifted to be more comfortable. He continued to watch at me as I stared back, mouth agape. I didn't want to look back at him. Damn, I felt so awkward kneeling there by him. But I couldn't tear my eyes away from his. It was like I was falling into them. Falling and falling… it felt like I'd never stop. Why was my heart beating so fast? Why did I feel a tingling in my cheeks? What was this feeling?

"You're interesting," he said.

My heart stopped.

Was it…? Had he really…? If I could have blushed redder than I already was, I would have done so right then. He did the weirdest thing. It was new to me. It didn't seem right. It didn't seem right, but it felt good. My fingers twitched and my mouth opened further. I knew I looked like a complete idiot, but right then I was finding it pretty difficult to have any control over my body. I felt like my brain had just fallen out and my stomach had done a back flip and then the two of them had danced off to enjoy a summer vacation in the Land of the Slightly Less Sane. I tried to fight these ridiculous images out of my mind as I continued to watch him, surprised by the change.

No, he hadn't really done anything _that_ drastic. All he'd done was smile. But… it had made me feel really… weird… like, I-didn't-want-him-to-stop-smiling kind of weird. It somehow made me happy in a way I couldn't express in words. I'd never felt so confused and vulnerable in my life. But I felt good because I'd never seen him show any emotion before and yet there he was, smiling. At me. Did I mention how amazing it was? If anything could be called beautiful, that was it. I mentally smacked myself for thinking up such ludicrous and pathetic fluff, but there was no other way I could really describe it.

I moved my lips and all I could say was, in a small voice, "S-Sora…"

"What?"

Then, all of a sudden, I regained control of my body and moved to jump up. But I couldn't, because he'd just grabbed my wrist.

"…What?" he asked again firmly, looking at me with an intense gaze now. The way I felt pressure pile onto me, I knew I had to say something.

"I… I … have to sleep." I was so psyched that I tried to stand again and he released me, turning over to watch me as I stumbled over him and dived into my bed, burying myself under the covers and rolling away from him. He made no reply and no movements.

I stayed in that position for a long, long time. I wasn't trying to sleep because I knew that it wouldn't be claimed so easily that night. My eyes were wide open, staring but not seeing. My face was pressed into my pillow anyway, but I was too fazed to notice. What had come over me? Why was I shaking? My fever was long gone, but why were my cheeks now so hot? What was this feeling of ecstasy doing deep inside of me?

The room was deadly quiet and I figured it was way past midnight. Slowly, I turned my head to steal a glance at the person who lay a metre away from me. To my luck, his eyes were closed – he must've fallen asleep. Then it happened again. I was sucked in once more. I couldn't look away from him. I didn't want to see anything other than his face, illuminated by the pale moonlight. It just drew me in and I couldn't escape. I didn't want to escape. I liked this new feeling.

I don't know how long I was staring. My eyes moved to his lips. He was no longer smiling… I felt sad. I continued to watch them; perhaps he might smile in his sleep. Well actually, they _did_ move, but he wasn't smiling. In fact, he was speaking to me.

"So," he said, eyes still shut. "Are you going to get some sleep? Or lie there gawking at me all night?"

Once more, my heart skipped a beat. My heart was beating so erratically that I was surprised I hadn't yet suffered a fatal heart attack and died.

He broke the silence again, this time opening his eyes, "What do you want from me, Sasuke?"

My name again. He'd said my name for the second time that night. And he was looking at me.

"I…" I couldn't think of anything to say. Even if I had, I probably wouldn't have been able to say it. Instead, I just pulled the sheets over my head again and shut my eyes. _"Crap… I'm such an idiot. What the hell is going on…? I don't like guys. I never have. I like girls. I have to revive my clan. I don't like guys . I _can't_ like guys. I _mustn't_ like guys. I don't like them, I don't, I don't, I d-"_

In the midst of my manic stream of thought I hadn't noticed how he'd lifted the sheet from my face. His hand fell on my forehead, causing me to open my eyes wide.

"You're trembling," he stated.

"N-No, I'm n-not…"

"Why are you trembling?" he asked in a slightly softer tone, inclining his head.

"…I d-don't know- I mean, no! Ah- no, I'm not!"

My hands clenched the thin linen sheets tight. My body was stiff and I didn't know what to do. He was so near, crouching on one knee beside me in my futon, with one hand on my head. A minute passed where he just stared down at me. But, it was a nice stare. It made me feel really warm. His hand ran over my head, through my spikes of hair, and rested on the back of my neck. I relaxed a little. The touch was so comforting. I couldn't help but enjoy the feel of it. I'd never been shown any affection before. Perhaps prior to losing my memories I may have, but… I couldn't understand how I could ever have forgotten how good it felt.

That's when his shadow crept over me. That's when his loose hair brushed over my neck and shoulders. That's when he descended upon me. Our gazes met.

And his mouth found mine.

Silence. Pure silence. The room was still. The world stopped. Time froze. For just one second, all senses abandoned me.

This was nothing like the accidental kiss I'd received from him in the cell. Even if they had both lasted a short time, this one made my heart jump into my throat and I was lost in the feel of his warm lips on my own.

A single kiss.

I listened to the sound as the contact broke. He raised his head and looked down at me. I looked back. _"No… don't pull away…"_

I wanted to feel it again… I wanted his warmth… I longed to have that connection again… my body longed to feel him… As if it had a mind of its own, my shaky hand lifted up to his face, sliding round the back of his head and pulled him back down again.

Yes… my mind blanked once more as he kissed me. This one was different. He didn't pull away. His lips touched to mine again, over and over. I began to move mine against his too, slowly mimicking his movements and learning how. I noticed how his hand slid up my arm to where my hand rested on his head. He pulled it to his cheek and held it there before running his own fingers over my jaw. The touch made me shiver.

As I was getting used to the kiss, he began to deepen it. He pressed harder against my mouth, taking control, while at the same time, putting his hands on my shoulders so he could push me onto my back. I was then introduced another sensation. Something smooth and wet ran over my lips, causing them to part and his tongue found its way into my mouth. Running it over the roof of my mouth and putting his weight into the kiss, a small sound of happiness escaped me.

I was so preoccupied with the amazing feel of his tongue grazing mine, that I only just realised that he had slipped into my bed with me. His hands now ran over my chest and shoulders as my own clung round his back. His touch on my body was revealing a whole new part of me I'd never known before. I wanted him to carry on forever. I wanted him to have me. I wanted to be his. I pulled him down on me, a new bout of _need_ taking over me. In response, he pushed his mouth harder and more passionately against my own, his tongue hungrily claiming my own.

His hands slid further down my body, sending shocks of excitement through my chakra streams. I could feel the spark between our two chakras and felt their longing to merge and become one.

His fingers touch my waist and I realised that he was pulling my black shirt up. He didn't release my lips until the very last moment before my shirt was pulled up over my head. Then he rushed back to them, kissing me again and again. His hands now stroked my bare chest and I tensed a little as his gentle fingers brushed over one of my nipples. That was when his mouth left mine in order to place small kisses down the front of my neck. I leant my head back. It felt so good… he moved down, kissing and occasionally nipping lightly at my skin with his teeth. My hands rested on both his cheeks as he moved.

I gasped as I felt his tongue brush my nipple. Lightly, he licked it, sending little shivers through my body. "Nnngg…" I said, pushing my hands back through his hair. He continued to tickle that spot with his tongue, and I felt other parts of my body yearning to feel the same thing. I knew he sensed this, because he grinded his body against mine, exciting regions of me that had not felt such a thing before. I wanted to feel _him_ against me… I wanted to feel his body… My hands pulled at the fabric of his identical shirt, trying desperately to remove it. He helped me with it and cast it to the floor beside us.

Ah… I took in his strong aroma… sweet and musky… I caught my breath, feeling his skin rubbing over my own and I ran my hands frantically over his back and shoulders, trying to take in his every curve and contour. He began to trace his tongue slowly down my stomach and I instinctively pushed my hips against him. He stopped by my belly button, kissing in circles around it. No… not there… lower… why was he taking so long…?

I tried to push his head further down. He was getting closer to it, his head disappearing under the covers… at an agonizingly slow pace. I moaned in frustration. He took my hint and hooked his fingers over the front of my waistband. Now… I needed it… He pulled them down even slower and I lay impatiently awaiting for him to get there. In a swift movement, he almost ripped off my pants, adding them to the pile of already discarded clothing. I was naked now and he knelt between my legs, palms rubbing my thighs, making me more excited.

Two painfully long seconds went by before I felt what I'd wanted so desperately. His tongue ran lightly from the base of my hardened member all the way up to the very tip. I was so sensitive. I shuddered as I felt the first few shocks of pleasure hit me. Then he took me in his mouth and I bit my lip as he began to lick the head. I moaned out, scraping my fingers through his hair.

After a little more teasing, his mouth engulfed me and began to suck slowly. I couldn't fight off the rising pleasure and I moved my hips back and forth, relishing in the sudden waves that emanated.

My eyes shut tight and I moaned louder. His movements grew more frequent and I felt myself on the edge of something amazing.

"Ah.. ah.. ah… Sora…"

It was coming… I wasn't sure what, but I wanted it so desperately… I fisted my hands in his hair, my muscles tensing up and my back arching. Just... a little… more…

Then, the warmth left me and it took me a moment to realise that he'd taken his mouth away.

"No…!" I moaned, almost crying. How cruel of him to deny me like that and leave me so unsatisfied…!

He moved down though and my eyes shot open as he licked a place that shouldn't be licked. Hey, that didn't feel right… but I was unable to stop him. He ceased once it was wet enough and moved back up my body, kissing me again as he removed his own pants.

Then he took a firm hold of my hips and I felt his own hardened manhood make contact with my entrance. I had a bad feeling about it, but he kissed the uneasy look off my face and forced his way in. I let out a stifled cry into his mouth as I tore a little to accommodate the intruder. My nails dug deep into his back and he flinched.

"Shhh…" he said, running his hands through my hair and looking down at me. I looked back up, with almost overflowing eyes, but that changed when he arched over me and began to push. He hit a point I'd never known existed and I found myself curling into him in pleasure, my pale body rubbing up against his larger, stronger one. As he moved in and out I felt the same feeling of yearning rushing back to me.

"S-Sora…"

Then, I heard the first moan fall from _his_ mouth and I lifted my head to kiss him once more. He returned it roughly, dominating my own mouth and his hand slid down my front again. His fingers enclosing me was enough. Enough to push me over the edge. My eyes shut and I froze as the feeling hit me. The sticky substance that shot out covered both him and myself.

I let out a long, drawn out moan as bliss spread throughout my body and I experienced the ultimate height of ecstasy. My entire body went limp and I relaxed. But he didn't stop thrusting.

He continued, his moans becoming more often and louder. At last, I watched him clench his teeth as he came inside me. He then stopped moving and rested upon me.

We wrapped our arms around each other and he rolled off me to relieve me of his weight. We lay there panting and holding each other. I couldn't hold back the smile that took over my face. I didn't want to. I watched him and he smiled back before coming back and catching my lips in a sweet kiss. I tasted him, fruity, like peaches… and I also blushed as I tasted myself in his mouth.

He pulled back from the kiss and then held me into his chest. I didn't think I'd ever felt happier in my life. Nothing could ever compare to this… I held him so tight. If he could make me feel this way, I never, ever wanted to let him go. Did I love him? Maybe. If that was what love was, I knew that I wouldn't give it up for anything.

"Sora…" I whispered.

"Hm?"

"I…"

I couldn't say it. I realised how foolish I felt. It reminded me of the time Sakura had said it to me. _"I love you."_ I didn't want to say it in case he thought I was showing weakness.

"Sasuke."

His voice startled me, but I managed to say, "S-Sora?"

"My name is Itachi."

Itachi…. So he wasn't Sora? He was Itachi…?

No. It didn't matter to me. What's in a name? I didn't bother to question his motives for hiding his real name from me. I didn't really care. As long as he was there with me, whatever he was called, I would be happy.

"Itachi…" I breathed.

And in that moment, as I felt his fingers softly stroking my hair, I honestly thought that I could never feel anything other than pure bliss ever again. Nothing could ever hurt me again. Nothing could ever take this feeling away.

I drifted into a wonderfully pleasant sleep, thinking of how nothing could ever go wrong, as I nestled into his protective form.

I couldn't have been further from the truth.

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**Author's note:** Oh my… -blushes- My first yaoi lemon. n.n""" This chapter took almost 3 hours to write… xD I hope it makes you see the emotion and not just the sex. I really hope that I pulled it off okay… 

Ummm.. sorry if there are any mistakes, I'm too embarrassed to read through it again. xP

Well, there you have it. To sum up this chapter:

1. They had their first (proper) kiss.

2. They had sex.

3. Itachi revealed his name.

I think this is my favourite chapter so far. Nice and fluffy! n.n I really, _really_ hope it goes down well with you guys! Please let me know if there is anything I can improve or just let me know what you think!

Thank you very much for reading this chapter! As usual, I managed to add a little twist at the end, which makes your mind go "DUN DUN DUN!" when reading it. xD And I know exactly what's going to happen. And you don't. Bwahahahahahahah. 8D

Well, it's 2:50am so I'd better go get some shut eye. xD Night!

(Crikey, these author's notes just get longer and longer. xDD )


	13. Recalculate

**The Perfect Plan**

**ItaSasu**

**

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Author's Note: **--ANNOUNCEMENT!- D; I'm going away on Friday and I won't be around until 31 August. ToT Therefore this will probably be the last update before September. :( -sobsob- So I'll try to make it really good. It's a poolside holiday and I'm taking my notebook, so when I get back there'll probably be at least another 5 chapters for you. x)

Thanks for the reviews on the lemons! I'm glad so many people enjoyed them! I was so worried it would be crappy. :(

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Chapter 13 – Recalculate

I had a dream that night.

I was standing at the very top of an enormous pine tree in the center of a dark forest that stretched as far as the eye could see. When I looked down, I wasn't able to see the ground and instead saw intense blackness. All around me hovered a grey mist, choking me in its heaviness.

I looked to my left and there he stood. Sora… no, Itachi. He was perched at the top of a neighbouring pine tree, clad in the Akatsuki cloak and as I noticed his gaze was focused on a point in the distance. I followed it with my eyes and caught sight of a dark shadow in the distance, which was drawing closer to us.

As it approached, the blurry edges of the shape became sharper and I made out the form of a person. They floated towards Itachi and I sensed bad intentions. I jumped as fast as I could to grab Itachi before the shadowed figure did and I clung onto him tight. But the figure beckoned him.

And Itachi pushed me back. I caught his hand but he continued to be sucked in by the black shadow. I tried to call his name, but no sound came out. His hand was slipping away from mine and I couldn't keep a hold of it. I silently cried out his name, and as I did, I slipped and fell from the tree in slow motion. I reached out to Itachi. He was close. He could rescue me.

He looked over his shoulder as if he sensed my desperate attempt to scream. But he looked back at the shadow once more and left me as I plummeted down towards the far away ground. Falling and falling… until-

My eyes snapped open and I sat up in a cold sweat. I knew I was awake because the coldness around me was just too real. Panting to regain my breath, I lay back down on the stone floor and curled up under the coat to go back to sleep.

Wait! I reached out my arms and felt for Itachi's warmth. It wasn't there; all I could find was the cold, hard floor. I looked around for him but he was gone. I sat up for the second time and my senses awakened to reality. The stench, the darkness, only Itachi's coat to keep me warm…

I was back in my cell.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

He shifted comfortably in my arms. He slept peacefully, but fidgeted quite a lot. Just as he always had. Every now and then he would let out a groan or a sigh but calmed down when I stroked his hair. For so long I'd only dreamt of being in that moment. Feeling his skin against mine and his slender arms holding me so tightly, I couldn't help but smile.

My plan was going so smoothly. I wasn't surprised because all of my plans were always perfect, but I was glad that this was no exception. I noticed how fragile he was as I ran my hands over his back, feeling the notches of his spine and I was aware of how easy it would be to lose him. He was so real, so alive. His hot body warmed up and comforted me, his deep, sleepy breathing blew against my collarbone and his chest rose and fell gently against mine.

Sasuke…

I pulled the sheets up over his shoulder to keep him warm. I didn't want to sleep that night because I was so content to just lay there holding my little brother. I closed my eyes and listened to his soft exhales.

Until I sensed Kisame. What was he doing? I'd specifically told the others not to come near me that night! Why was he disobeying me? I glared in the direction of the door as it noiselessly opened to reveal my fellow Akatsuki member. He gave me a very serious look and at once I knew something was wrong. He wouldn't go against my orders in the first place unless it was an emergency.

Reluctantly, I sat up, letting Sasuke's hands slip from me and I stroked his head before stepping from the futon and throwing some clothes on. I lifted the sheets up to his chin, then silently left the room to meet Kisame who stood outside it. We walked down the corridor to his room where we would be able to talk without Sasuke hearing.

"What is the meaning of this?" I asked, almost unable to contain my anger. Whatever Kisame had to say was eating away my precious moments with Sasuke, so it had better be worth it.

"It's the leader," he said, "He's here."

"What?" I gasped, my eyes widened. This was the last thing I wanted to hear.

"If he finds out about Sasuke he'll kill him," he said, but I already knew it. "If he finds out what you've been doing you'll be in serious trouble. Same goes for me, Sasori and Deidara being a part of it."

I frowned. I already knew what would happen if the leader discovered that I was doing something other than the job he had set out for me and I certainly didn't want to put Sasuke in danger. "Why is he here? He wasn't scheduled to visit this base for at least another two months."

"I don't know. I haven't been in contact with him yet. I've just heard from Zetsu about his coming here. But that's not all. I was out hunting when I sensed shinobi. It's the Konoha shinobi. They're approaching."

"What!" This was very bad. "How far are they?"

"Several miles. They're moving quickly and should be upon us within an hour. Well it depends on how quickly they crack the genjutsu hiding our base but we mustn't underestimate them. It's the same ones from before – your captive's team mates – as well as some others, including the copy ninja, Hatake Kakashi."

_Shit._ Things couldn't be worse. I had to come up with a way to protect Sasuke from the leader and to fight off the attackers.

In a split second, my mind had calculated a new plan. The leader was stronger than even myself so I had to tread lightly. If I made one mistake, he'd come down on me like a ton of bricks. Even worse, my little Uchiha would most likely meet an early end. And I figured it would be best if we kept the Konoha ninja as far from the base as possible.

"I'm moving him back to his cell. He shall be a prisoner of mine and I will be conducting tests on him to uncover as much information on the Kyuubi as possible. Kisame, take Deidara and Zetsu with you and lure the enemy away from the building. If you can, eliminate at least one of them. This could also be a good chance to snatch the Kyuubi. I shall watch from the shadows and await the right moment to take him. The others can die." That was my amended scheme.

I saw Kisame thinking hard before he said slowly, "But the first part… doesn't that mean he's going to find out you're a member of Akatsuki? And your whole plan as Kamen Sora will be revealed."

"I would rather he be angry at me than get killed by the leader."

I turned and left him in the room as I rushed to the other room to fetch Sasuke. First, I cast the genjutsu on my Akatsuki cloak to hide the red clouds. Once again, it became the black cloak of Kamen Sora. Then, carefully, I pulled the sheets from him, picked up my cloak and wrapped it around him, lifting him up in my arms. Because I was an elite shinobi, silence was no difficult task and he didn't wake. I took him through the corridors and stopped by the chakra door. Transferring my brother to one arm, I put my other hand onto the cold surface, letting my chakra flow over it. I waited impatiently as the entire surface area was covered until it finally disappeared and I hurried through. I reached his cell and entered, carefully laying him on the floor in my coat.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke," I whispered, lightly prodding his forehead.

Then I stood up and left him there. I dashed back to our bedroom and used my Mangekyou to dispose of the sweaty, dirty futon we'd slept together in. There was to be no evidence for the leader. Once that was done, I pulled on Sasuke's Akatsuki cloak. From then on, I'd decided to wear his instead.

I went out and met up with the three other Akatsuki members and we departed our well hidden base in search of the intruders.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Itachi…" I groaned, utterly bemused. "Why am I here? Where have you gone?"

I was reminded of the coldness of the cell. It was such a contrast to the heat I'd recently experienced with the mission's client, Kamen Sora. Or Kamen Itachi, as I'd just found out.

What was going on? Why was I back there? How long was I going to be there this time?

I had no idea. All I knew, as I clutched the coat tight around myself, was that I wanted Itachi back.

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**Author's Note: **Sorry it's short, I had a lot of difficulty writing this, despite knowing what I wanted in it. I think I was a bit distracted! And I'm not too sure about the second Sasuke bit in this chapter. Might remove it. Might not. Can't decide. U.u;;

Soooo, big things are gonna happen! -excitement-

Thanks for the 12 reviews on the last chapter! O.O That's a lot. Much love to you all!

I'm kinda rushing this note cause I'm so tired. n.n"" Plus I'm going to an anime con on Friday and I need to plan the train route tomorrow, so it'd help if I wasn't half dead/asleep.

Kay, so if you read the first note, you'll be aware that **I'm going away until 31 August**. There is an internet café there so I will check my messages every few days but I won't be able to upload any chapters. I will write lots in my notebook though. I'm still around till Thursday!

I'll miss y'all. Until September (Gaahhh it seems like such a long time away….! But it's not, I promise!), my lovelies! Ja ne!


	14. Burning Fury

**The Perfect Plan**

**ItaSasu**

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** Author's Note:** I must be the only person who makes so many author's notes…

Anyway! I'm back! Good news and bad news for you! Bad news is –sobsobsob- I wasn't nearly as productive on holiday as I had hoped ToT Gomen! But you know what it's like when it's super hot and there's a gorgeous white beach calling to you and a huge pool with fountains and stuff going "Cia… come… come to me… drop that notebook… come into the water…" c.c;;

But! Good news is I have written 1.5 chapters. xD This one, and the next is only half done.

**Guys, I'm really sorry for the delay. There's been a lot going on in my life, including the passing away of some of my family members so I hope you can understand why I haven't had time to update. I apologise profusely.** T.T

Furthermore, I have really evil writer's block! Nooo! ToT It's so annoying. ( I know where I want to go, but I can't figure out how to. After this chapter, I might ask for a little help from you reviewers. It would be much appreciated.

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Chapter 14 – Burning Fury

The enemy was drawing closer at an alarming rate. It would be a matter of minutes before we would come face to face. I left Kisame, Deidara and Zetsu and my way alone in a wide circle, dancing across the tree branches, in order to get behind the Konoha ninja. I followed them until I sensed them stop abruptly – they would have met the three other Akatsuki members.

Carefully and silently I approached, keeping hidden and surveyed the scene from a branch. The enemy was three Anbu shinobi in masks but I recognised their body language and mannerisms immediately. Sasuke's team.

Straight away the Kyuubi charged at Zetsu, "Give back Sasuke, Plant-head!"

If he was insisting on being the center of attention, it would be a more difficult task snatching him than I'd anticipated.

The woman caught him and held him back. "Baka!" she hissed.

"Where is Sasuke? What have you done with him!" he continued to yell, flailing his limbs. As I had expected, Kisame too a merry notice of this. "What troublesome limbs. Allow me to relieve you of them." With a smirk, he swung Samehada from his shoulder and held it out in front of him. The girl, Sakura, released her team mate and took up a defensive position. Damnit, I'd be there all day if Kisame decided to mess about. "Bring it," the fox boy snarled.

With that, the fight began. Kisame to the Kyuubi, Zetsu to Sakura and Deidara to their leader with silver hair, Hatake Kakashi.

I was very nearly surprised at how evenly matched the Konoha trio were; then again, they were supposedly the best in the world. How annoying that Sasuke has has to be in such a team. However, I'd expected no less from him, because he _was_ my little brother. I almost smiled at the image that flashed before my eyes of him from earlier: eyes teary, hot red cheeks, pouting mouth, smoothy ivory skin…

No, concentrate. I refocused on the battle at hand. It looked like it would last a while. I wondered if there were any other enemy troops in the area. After a fight against three Akatsuki members, they couldn't possibly expect to have enough chakra and strength to face more in the base by themselves. On top of that, there was the leader to consider. Where was he now? Had he found Sasuke?

I had to pause in my thoughts because something serious was happening on the ground below. I could smell the foul chakra already… what a huge presence. Naruto was crouched and I was actually able to see the red chakra blubbling around him. It was taking the form of a tail.

"Give… him… BACK!" He leapt towards Deidara who had Sakura in his grasp. An agile fighter, Deidara reacted quickly, throwing her to the ground and dodging the hit. But it was very, very close. The boy was actually using the Ninetales Chakra! This tail was extremely irritating. There was no way even the four of us would be able to take him on without casualties. In a split second, I calculated what to do and took out my radio and whispered into it: "We need backup. Forget the base, it's not important. The Kyuubi is here and using the red chakra. The tail is visible. If any more appear, we're dead."

"Right," I heard Sasori reply.

"…" There was a silent reply too, which I took to be the leader. He hardly ever spoke. Was he coming too? I hoped so because just Sasori wouldn't be enough. We all wore tiny earpieces and so the three mid-fight would have heard all this. I could tell because they fought harder, focusing on Naruto-kun. I felt his chakra growing in size. It didn't seem like it was going to ever stop.

Kakashi wasn't idle – he was using his one sharingan and efficiently protecting the boy along with the kunoichi. At this rate, I wouldn't be able to simply jump in and snatch him – whenever he was attacked the chakra just deflected it. I would have to join the fight. If I used Tsukiyomi, I would be able to knock him out instantly. As for the others… they would realise that I wasn't Kamen Sora.

I didn't have to decide though… because in the blink of an eye, he was in front of me. I only had a split second to dodge but I was still faster. As the boy flew past though, his bubble of chakra seemed to have a mind of its own and I felt the burning heat of it on my skin. To my horror, it didn't follow him – the tail extended out toward me and I couldn't escape! They caught me and Naruto landed on a branch before jumping back to me. The tail constricted me, immobilizing me and he was flying towards me, claws unsheathed. It was too late.

"Sasuke?"

I opened my eyes. His nose was almost touching mine and his red eyes were wide. Immediately taking advantage of this opening, I broke free from the loosened grip and jumped up to the above branch. Deidara appeared by my side.

"You alright?"

"Yeah."

"YOU'RE NOT SASUKE!" roared the Ninetales boy, regaining my attention. His chakra field was expanding. "There aren't enough of us to take him _and_ the others," I spoke into my radio again. "Ignore the others. Everyone concentrate on capturing and sealing the Kyuubi."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"FUCKING HELL!" I yelled, kicking the door to my cell. I was _so_ sick of that place! One second I'd been in Itachi's futon, the next I was here again, naked. Well I was wrapped once again in his black cloack but that still wasn't enough. I was dirty, hot and tired. Thought, I was so furious that I'd momentarily forgotten about those things and had been pounding the door for God knows how long.

"Let me out, Goddamnit!" I punched the door one last time and collapsed to my knees. The old chakra-consuming walls were still doing their job, I could see. "Shit," I cussed, my forehead against the door.

"Itachi? Are you out there…?" The place was silent and I didn't think there was anyone nearby to hear me. I fell onto my back, covering myself with the cloak and sighed in frustration. Slowly, my eyelids closed and I felt my tiredness creeping back.

**BANG!**

My eyes snapped open and I sat up. What the hell? There was the door to my cell… on the floor at the opposite end of the cell and the wall it had hit was cracked and ccrumbled. For the first time in months I breathed fresh, forest air. Then I looked back to the door's frame.

Only two people in the world had such monstrous strength and I was pretty sure I knew who was there in the doorway. The young woman ran over to me and knelt by my side, removing her mask and letting her pink hair fall about her shoulders.

"Sasuke-kun!"

She swept down on me and held me tight.

"Get off," I grunted, not to pleased with her arms around my naked self. She let go and I saw tears in her eyes.

"I was so worried about you," she said. "I'm so glad you're safe!" On that last word, she came down on me again, holding me dangerously tight and I felt her press her lips to my cheel. I certainly didn't enjoy it – she was invading my personal space and I was thoroughly pissed off about it. However, I couldn't push her away because I was too weak. I was a little glad to see her though, knowing that she was there to rescue me from that hell.

"Sakura, I can't breathe." I stated and she loosened me again, smiling as tears ran down her cheeks. God, she can't have missed me _that_ much.

"Take him and let's go," said a man's voice. There stood Kakashi.

Sakura lifted me in her arms and I glared angrily as my face was pressed into her breasts but could do nothing other than hold the cloak around myself.

As we were passing through the hole in the wall, I suddenly asked, "What about It- Kamen Sora! Did you find him?"

"Your client?" asked Kakashi. "The building was completely empty. However-"

"Where's Naruto?"

"He's taking care of those Akatsuki members. You may be a little surprised to know who we saw there, though."

"Who?"

We jumped up into the trees.

"Kamen Sora," whispered Sakura.

"WHAT?"

"Yup," said Kakashi. "He's in the Akatsuki and a very skilled shinobi too. It seems he tricked even the Hokage to get to Naruto."

"Naruto will be fine though," Sakura added. "With Kyuubi on his side, they don't stand a chance. Especially that Sora. I'll personally break his neck when I next meet him."

"We'll pick up Naruto and then-"

"Sora's in the Akatsuki!"

"Yeah, he-"

"No! You don't understand, they made us wear the cloaks while we worked at the base. He's not actually a member-"

"He is," Kakashi said firmly, "And his name isn't Kamen Sora. It's-"

"I know what it is. He told me. Why would he tell me if he was one of them?"

Kakashi looked shocked, "So you know…?"

"Yes."

"You're taking it too well."

"It's just a name."

"I see. Seems you don't know his whole name. Well, we'll save that for later."

We then stopped suddenly in a clearing on the ground.

"Shit!" cursed our team leader.

"Where are they? Where's Naruto?" Sakura asked frantically, then something caught her eye. I saw it too.

On the ground lay a forehead protector. Kakashi lifted it… in two halves.

It was Naruto's.

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**Author's note:** I'm sorry, again. Don't expect the next chapter too soon, I've yet to finish it. But I'll try hard to do something about it as soon as I can..! It's my birthday this Saturday, btw. xD I'm too lazy to proof read today. See you guys soon, I hope. xxx 


	15. Tense

**The Perfect Plan**

**ItaSasu**

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**Author's note:** It's me again. 8D I actually got some inspiration to write from a SasuHina fic.. o.o Yeah, crazy, I know. I don't even like that pairing! xD Anyhow, let's on with the chapter. What number are we on now..?

Fun fact: Cia doesn't name her chapters till she's written them! 8o …_how exciting…_

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Chapter 15 – Tense

My head was swimming. I was feeling so many mixed emotions and they were beginning to lose my self control as I writhed in Sakura's arms.

"Put me down, goddamnit!" I flashed my sharingan at her in warning. Hastily, she obeyed me and put me to my feet. I had the large coat fastened so nothing was on show but I held it round me anyway.

"Sasuke."

I turned round to glare at Kakashi.

"In our current state, we would be marching to our deaths."

"So you're going to leave him to die!" I shouted.

"We have to rest and get reinforcement if we want to stand a chance against the Akatsuki."

"He could be killed at any minute!" Sakura joined in.

"So will you if you rush off now," he said, a warning tone in my sensei's voice.

"I'll go," I said firmly, eyes not leaving Kakashi's. "And I'll get him back by myself if I have to."

I turned and began walking slowly back in the direction of the base.

"Look at yourself, Uchiha Sasuke!" I stopped suddenly. I'd never heard him speak in a raised voice before – the harshness of it made me shiver and I could tell he was trying not to shout. His chakra's presence seemed to have doubled and I dared not look at him.

Kakashi spoke again but in a low, chilling voice, "Don't you _dare _think that I don't want to save him now."

I looked slowly over my shoulder at him, as if his chakra was pulling me round and I caught sight of a very dangerous flicker in his dark eye. Normally, I'd be able to fight him on the same level, but right then, I could barely through a punch let alone have an all-out battle with my sensei.

"Grow up, Sasuke," he continued, as if scolding a child. He took a breath before he began to explain in a patient voice, "We are the only ones who know where he has gone. We can either foolishly chase after him and get killed – in which case, no one will know what has happened and it would be several days before the village even starts to suspect what's taking us. _Or,_ we can go back, get help, get rested and return with greater numbers, greater strength and a much more certain victory. Which would you choose?"

I stood in a stubborn silence. I really wanted to get Naruto back – he was my best friend and I couldn't help but care a little about what happened to him. I also wanted to- no, _had_ to find Itachi and prove to Kakashi that was wasn't in the Akatsuki, that he was being used and that I was right. He _definitely_ wouldn't betray me.

…would he? Then again, why wouldn't he? What had I done that deserved his alliance? What if he'd just used me for his own sexual satisfaction…? No, there was more to it than that. It had felt so special… he'd even smiled! Surely that meant something? There was no way he'd betray me! He wouldn't lie to me! He wasn't a criminal! How could someone who'd given me so much pleasure do something evil enough to earn a place in Akatsuki?

"Sasuke-kun?" I looked at the girl who'd spoken. "Let's go," she said. She took my arm and led me away, pressing warm, reassuring medical chakra to my forehead.

He couldn't be in Akatsuki. Even if he was, he knew what Naruto meant to me – I'd told him all about him: the fights we'd had, his mannerisms, how we'd met… if anything, Itachi should be out there _saving_ Naruto.

My body passively allowed itself to be lifted by Kakashi.

No… that wasn't his style. But he knew Naruto was close to me. …he'd protect him. He'd stop the Akatsuki from hurting him. Yes… I was sure of it. I shut my eyes, feeling much more at ease as the medical nin's sleep-inducing jutsu took effect. Itachi was on my side. Naruto would be fine.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"But-!"

"Leave him!"

Distant scuffling.

A door clicked shut.

Eyes opened.

They were _my _eyes.

Ceiling.

….

It was _my_ ceiling.

The smell of soft musk and the feel of tidiness and order… hold on…

I sat up quickly and looked around. I was in my bed. My own bed. At home.

…oh God, I'd missed this place…

Wait… don't sigh yet… just check… touch the wall…. energy _not_ being sucked out of my body: good sign.

I definitely was home. I let my muscles relax and I exhaled slowly. Relief.

…

Naruto!

Muscles tensed back up and I leapt out of my bed. I was pleased to feel strength in my body – the chakra binds had gone from my wrists.

I also felt cold air blow over and grip me as I flew freely through the air.

And I grabbed my sheets round myself.

Flying around in my nakedness was not what I really needed to be doing at that moment in time.

Quickly, I dressed and washed, silently glad that I lived alone. Naruto needed me. Now… where to look? I opened the front door only to be blown about by a gust of freezing wind. I'd been cooped up so long in that base that I'd forgotten how much time had passed. It was summer when I went in and autumn - nearing winter – when I came out.

I went back inside to get a coat and scarf before I set off. Oh… there was only one coat hanging up – Itachi's. Well, I had no choice. I donned it and then stepped out again. I'd try the Hokage's tower first.

Once I'd arrived, I noticed how oddly quiet it was. In through the door I dashed, up the stairs and to the door of Tsunade's office. When I knocked, there was no reply. I entered anyway, to find that no one was there.

"Piss," I uttered. This was not what I needed. I turned around hastily and crashed into a very rushed, running kunoichi. Books and other small, medical items clattered to the floor. A very strong, effeminate perfume engulfed me and I knew exactly who it was. A split second later, she jumped back from me.

"Sasuke!" she said, a mixture of shock and uneasiness on her face.

"Sakura."

"Have you seen Kakashi? Or Tsunade-sama? I can't find them anywhere!"

"No."

I raised my eyebrows at her. Her cheeks were pink and she was breathing heavily as if she'd been running about for quite a while.

She looked away from me, coyly. Ugh, she was still that childish, annoying fangirl. She then shook her head as if to dismiss her actions and stared back at me, a more urgent look in her eyes, "Sasuke!"

She glanced about as if checking the coast was clear, grabbed my wrist (which I promptly shook away), leant closer to me and whispered, tears welling up in her eyes: "I think they've gone off to Naruto without us!"

"What?" I asked, instantly furious.

"Well.. I _know_ they have! I tried to tell you earlier but Shizune stopped me."

Now that I remembered it, those voices I'd awoken to had sounded familiar.

Why would they go without us? We were two of the strongest ninja in existence. I didn't want to ask Sakura this though, because I didn't want to appear confused or worried. So, patiently, I let her explain.

"I got up really early this morning so we could get to Naruto as soon as possible but Tsunade was gone! And so was Kakashi! And most of the hunter-nin!"

"Shit," I cursed under my breath.

"We have to go now!" she urged.

I agreed inwardly, clenching my fists at my sides, but I didn't want her to be in charge of what course of action we took.

"Pick up the supplies," I said, noticing that what she had dropped earlier had not been medical items, but bags of food, scrolls and weapons. She did as she was told.

"We're going now. Come on."

So we ran out of the bulding, jumping onto the rooftops and made out way out of the ninja village and through the familiar environment of Konoha's surrounding forests.

* * *

**Author's note: ** Bah… -yawn- I'm so tired. That's enough of this chapter, I think. Please enjoy reading it, while I go sleep somewhere. xO 


	16. Urgency and Short Breaths

**The Perfect Plan**

**ItaSasu**

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**Author's Note: ** What…? I'm alive? O.o Wow. Sorry everyone….. (oh, here come the excuses) Complete lack of free time and inspiration, plus, I am in a really serious year at school so I have a heck of a lot of work to do. I'm sorry!

This chapter, well, as I write now, I still have no idea what to write but we'll see, I guess… damn, I bet other people are so organised and know what to write… I just… write… xD Can't be a good technique. Well, let's go then!

I bring you… the long awaited chapter 16! Woo! –claps-

* * *

Chapter 16 – Urgency and Short Breaths

I led the way because I knew where we were going: the Akatsuki hideout. Naruto should be there.

Sakura was a couple of metres behind me and I could hear her breathing heavily. Tired already? We'd only been sprinting for three hours, honestly. I stopped suddenly and she ran another two metres before stopping too.

"What is it, Sasuke-kun?" she asked, donning a concerned expression.

"You're tired. Rest."

The whole resting business always pissed me off. It put us behind on missions and training. I always thought, if stamina were infinite, my ninja skills would be hundreds of times better than they were. I could train all day and all night and complete missions with ease. But unfortunately, stamina did eventually run out (or rather, Sakura's depleted pretty quickly) and it always put us back an hour or so. Naruto could have been miles away by the time we'd recuperated.

"Oh…" she said after a pause, looking at her feet. "Uh… I…"

What was it now? It always pissed me off when she acted like that. I wished she'd just get a move on and spit out whatever crappy fangirl thing she had to say. I sat down on the thick branch we had stopped on, dangling my legs over one side and looking down the twenty or so feet to the ground. I was hardly tired at all. Tch.

The girl ummed and ahhed a little longer before she also sat down on the branch (surprisingly, she didn't come and sit right next to me).

I closed my eyes and submerged myself in a sea of thoughts. Naruto… Itachi…. Sakura…

Before too long, Sakura spoke and stood up, startling me slightly, "Okay. Naruto could be in any sort of trouble. We have to rescue him before its too late." I looked up at her out of the corner of my eye. The determination was pretty evident. She'd matured a heck of a lot more than I'd bothered to take notice of. And not just mentally. She was a real woman now… damn popular with the guys… and you know what? She still looked at me in that way. Still went shy and giggly if I so much as looked at her. 5 years later and she hadn't changed, despite my constant rejection. And yet now, I'd never seen such determination in her eyes… it was weird. She was like a different person. Curious, I stood up and walked over to her.

"What were you going to say earlier?" I asked her firmly.

She turned quickly, an expression of embarrassment and fear on her face.

"Say it." I loved having this power over her. Even if she did get kind of annoying.

"…I…" she wasn't looking at me. "I…. just…. Wondered what happened… at the Akatsuki hideout…"

"I'm alive, aren't I?"

"No… I meant… what did they do to you…?"

She looked up at me. I couldn't escape her eyes. They were so pleading. Damn, this was annoying. I wished she wouldn't put me on the spot like that. Why was she standing so close? And why did I feel so awkward? And hot?

"I- They-" Wait… was this my voice? Agh, I was getting stuttery and irritating just like her!! Was it rubbing off on me somehow? _Must get out of this…_ I couldn't move. I was frozen. It wasn't jutsu, no… I just couldn't move… How do I get out of this…?

"Sasuke-kun…" She was so close. I couldn't go anywhere. She was moving closer! Damn! I willed my feet to move… her hand fell on my shoulder.

It all happened so fast. Her lips crashed onto mine. All I could do was stare forwards… but I couldn't see Sakura. Sure, I _felt_ her… _tasted_ her… sugary… but I saw _him_. Those dark eyes. Was that why I kissed back? Is that why I held her too?

Shit…

Is he the reason we ended up breathing hard… _pushing_ hard… crying out…? It was like I couldn't control myself. There was an urgency in my body telling me how I needed him so badly…

"Ah… ah…"

She moaned loudly… but it resounded in my ears in that deep, emotionless voice…

She touched me… but at the same time… _he_ touched me… it was as if I'd entered another world…

Then…

"Sasuke-kun…" she let out a long drawn out moan and I was brought back down to earth suddenly. I looked down. Haruno Sakura. Her face was flushed, sweating and her hair was a mess. Look, there were my fingers tangled in it. Her arms were round my neck.

"Sasuke-kun…" she whispered, panting, her hands starting to stroke my own hair. "I love you…"

No…

…

"No… no… NO!" I cried out, my eyes so wide they could pop out. I began breathing even more sharply. I detangled my fingers and jumped back from her, fumbling for my clothes and pulling them on blindly. No… it had not happened…

She sat up… "Sasuke-kun?" I couldn't bear that hurt look in her eyes. She was so naked, so exposed. I couldn't look at her. I couldn't be with her! I'd fooled her, mistreated her, lied to her… this was so much than all those rejections I gave her. And not only that… Itachi…

If he found out… what would he do to me? I needed him! I had to find him! I needed to be rescued! Itachi!

So I ran. I had no idea what I was doing or where I was going… I just ran. I ran as fast as I could, ignoring Sakura's cries. They faded and grew more distant and it was only seconds before they disappeared altogether.

What had I done? …surely it was not true? No… I realised why my fingers were so sticky… I'd really done it… there was no escape.

I, Uchiha Sasuke had had sex with my team mate and friend, Haruno Sakura. What about Naruto? I didn't know what to do… I couldn't face him _or_ her now… all I could think of was to escape… and get away. If I ran far enough, would my troubles go away?

It was dark now. I'd been running for hours and I was low on energy but I couldn't stop my legs – they'd gone into auto pilot, programmed never to stop. I wasn't watching the path ahead. All I could see was Sakura, panting and smiling, telling me she loved me… and then _him_…

Waah…! I suddenly felt more horizontal than usual and I realised that I'd stopped. My head hurt. I then realised I'd slammed into something. No, I had to keep going. Breathing heavily, I lifted my head from the dirt and focused my eyes.

…

No…

Feet.

…

A black cloak…

…

Slowly, I raised my head to face a tall cloaked silhouette.

"Oh? You're back, I see."

A voice like dark velvet…

­­­­

No… it wasn't-!

* * *

**Author's Note**: ….omg cliffhanger. xD Just cause I had writer's block doesn't mean I can't be mean and have a cliffhanger. Even if the outcome is kinda obvious… hahaha.

Well, I have writer's unblock now. Or rather I didn't. Though the end of this chapter wasn't part of my plan. Hehe oh well I'll have to figure out how to get back into my original plot.

Well, I really hope you all enjoyed the chapter. I read every single review and I apologise for depriving you of the next chapter! More should come soon, I hope. Bye bye for now xx


	17. Punishment

**The Perfect Plan**

**ItaSasu**

* * *

**Author's Note:** Hi again. 8D Thanks for the several reviews on the last chapter! A couple were analytical enough that they gave me ideas and made me think of some aspects of the story I would not have thought of before. 8D

Anyways, please enjoy this chapter and I'd love to hear what you all think of what's going on at the moment! Any suggestions or critique would be very helpful too and I'll think them all over and take them on board!

**Beware: **This is an extremely violent chapter… don't read it if you get scared by that. If you don't like violence, skip to the author's note at the end and I'll tell you in short what happened.

* * *

Chapter 17 - Punishment

He walked away from me and I scrambled to my feet.

"Itachi…"

Following him, I felt anxious. How, in all the world, had I managed to discover and run into him of all people? The chances were surely pretty slim, which meant… he must have been there for a reason… why?

…did he know what I had done? My anxiety suddenly quadrupled.

We walked through the trees slowly for several minutes. It was mid morning but for some reason the forest grew increasingly darker. The air was still, unnerving, and a feeling of tension seemed to develop so much so that the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. I noticed how silent it had become… there wasn't a hint of movement from any part of the surroundings other than Itachi's and my own footsteps. And it was so uncomfortably cold…! Where was he taking me? This _place_ did not feel like Konoha, nor did it feel like anywhere I had been to before. Soon, the environment was so dark I could not see properly and the branches overhead knotted together in a thick mass, blocking all natural light. It would have been pitch dark had it not been for millions of mysterious glowing lights dotted all over the tree trunks and branches, in the bushes and all over the ground. When I tried to look closely at one in particular, it would disappear, along with the secret of its power. We walked through a narrow, unlit pathway and I decided not to take my eyes of the red and black shadow pacing a couple of metres ahead.

He stopped and turned.

His eyes seemed red in the dim lights. From him seeped a very unsettling and intimidating aura, which seemed to wrap around me, constricting me. A second later, I realised he had used the Shadow Bind no jutsu. A cold sweat broke out on my forehead – it was an effect of the technique, I _wasn't _ afraid.

Slowly, Itachi took two steps forward, as did I. We stood face-to-face only inches apart.

"W-What are you doing?" I said, my voice choked as I tried to fight the technique. A moment later, I felt cold metal touch my back. In front of me, I saw a look of disgust on the man's pale face. It was a daunting sight – the grimace, lit up by a dim red light, strong black shadows sunk deep into the wrinkles under his eyes, which shone a brighter red than I thought ever possible. They were so haunting… I felt my head spinning… it was as if he was hypnotising me…

In a flash, my stomach seemed to flip over and blood rushed to my head, throwing me into darkness. As my sight returned, I realised I was able to move once more. I turned round suddenly to see who was behind me. …no one.

I heard the echoey soft clack of a shoe to my left. I swivelled round and there stood Itachi, his figure dark, like a void in existence, a hole in reality. All I could see of him were two glinting red eyes…

"Where am I?" I shouted, "Why are you doing this?"

He stared at me in such a way that made me want to turn and run. But I didn't because I had just realised that the environment had changed. It was lighter and the world seemed to consist of only three colours: black, white and red. Above us were thousands of long, clouds like streaks of black paint. Around us stood tall, white and black trees, bare, with twisting and skeletal branches. I could not tell the difference between sky and ground. Everything – the air – was red.

In the blink of an eye, Itachi was there, right before me. My feet were rooted to the spot and I frowned at the seemingly towering figure in front. He bent down, his face closing the distance between us. I shut my eyes tight – I could not move! He was going to kill me!

Then, his lips touched lightly onto my own in a single kiss. They pressed harder and grazed mine, but before I could even begin to return it, his teeth bit down hard onto my bottom lip. I cried out and the pain allowed me to jump back. He'd bitten deep and I tasted the blood leaking into my mouth. His face was visible now and I watched the red blood leave a trail down his paper-white chin.

"Itachi!" I barked.

He looked at me darkly, shadows once again casting over him but I was able to see him lift his arm to wipe my blood onto his sleeve. I reached swiftly to my pouch for my shuriken, ready to attack! - but it was empty. I blinked once and as I reopened my eyes, I was somewhere else.

My hands were now above my head, bound by a black wire –it was cutting me- and my feet were dangling above the ground. _He_ stood in front of me, eye level with me. I struggled to get free, but every time I moved, the wires cut deeper into my arms.

At a lightning speed, he drew a kunai from his coat. He approached.

I grunted, "Why?"

He lifted his arm and slashed it across my chest – I couldn't escape! I let out a strangled scream as the cold metal sliced through my flesh. He yanked my shirt and tore it off me, casting it behind him. It disintegrated before it hit the ground. I was able to see the dark red cut on my white skin. It was shallow and blood only trickled from it. The tip of the blade touched the underside of my chin and it was lifted up so that my eyes were looking right into his. I was haunted by the spirals in his eyes and felt myself shudder. What scared me more though, were the words he spoke.

"I know what you did…" His voice was low and cutting and it chilled me to the bone.

"W-what…?" I managed to stutter, acting confused.

He withdrew and stepped back from me, staring with eyes burning like fire.

"Don't play with me!" he exploded, taking me by surprise. His voice boomed and echoed around the whole place and all the trees were blasted into oblivion, their shapes being sprayed away from us, into nothingness. All that remained was him and I. His voice became a cold, cruel whisper when he next spoke, "You will be punished."

My heart skipped a beat and I choked when I laid my eyes on the next sight.

From behind him stepped a pale, unclothed figure, not much smaller than myself. She was slender and her bowed head caused shadow to be cast over her face. Taking the kunai from Itachi, she approached me. It was then that I realised the game was over.

In a final, desperate attempt to sway him, I yelled, "You can't do this! Stop it! It was a mistake!"

But it was too late. The young woman looked up at me and I felt a grip on my heart as she glared fiercely at me, her mouth screaming silently. My attention was drawn from her face as she raised her arm. I struggled again, trying in vain to release myself but the wires broke my skin and I felt my hot blood dribble up my arms. I shut my eyes and gritted my teeth, prepared for the blow.

It came.

It was the greatest and most terrible pain to be experienced. Not only did the blade scythe through my flesh, but every part of my body felt it. My scream was stifled by an invisible force as my blood spattered onto the girl's face.

She stepped aside and I saw my torturer. He clicked his fingers and there appeared millions more of the girl around us, as far as the eye could see, every single one bearing a blade.

I wanted to weep. I wanted to scream. But my eyes had dried up and my voice was gone.

"Now," Itachi said, "Experience it a million times."

"No!" I tried to yell as they closed in on me. Ten blades cut me at once. The pain shot through me – it was excruciating. "NO!"

"You cannot even have the satisfaction of screaming. This will teach you that I am _NOT_ a force to be reckoned with. Hmm… what was her name? Ah yes…Sakura. I will leave you to her. At least try to endure it because that is the only way you can live now.

"You will feel what it is like to defy me. Learn from your punishment… Sasuke." He spat out my name, but I could not react… I was blacking out from the ever increasing hurt.

…_ungh…_

_I'm going to die…_

…_please… there's so much I have to do…_

_I'm not… _

…_ready to…_

…

_die…_

Darkness.

* * *

**Author's Note: ** Basically, Itachi leads Sasuke into a scary dark place, takes him to the world of Mangekyou Sharingan where he is bound and tied up. There follows a torture process – Itachi knows what Sasuke has done and is going to punish him for it! A girl slashes him a million times with a simple kunai – the pain is choking. …the girl is Sakura. Sasuke spends his last few moments silently begging for his life and he is hit with darkness.

Shadow Bind no jutsu – Shikamaru's technique, which freezes the enemy. Itachi can use it because he has Sharingan. If I got the name slightly wrong, gomengomen. u.u;

Wow… it's so violent… o.o That scared even me… sorry, guys! Feedback please!

I also apologise for the abuse and overuse of "…" in my story… it annoys me just as much as I'm sure it annoys you too. xD I really should cut back (it's like an addiction!)

_Random mood-spoiling comment:_ …doesn't kage bunshin (shadow replication) just give you the kinkiest thoughts ever? O.O …oh my.. –sweatdrop- "n.n

Oh well… xD Until next time!


	18. Child

**The Perfect Plan**

**ItaSasu**

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**Author's Note: ** Wow, I just ate the most delicious plum of all time. o.o 

…

_Anyway_, once again long time no write. xP Well, it's the easter holidays and I have 2 weeks off school! OHYEAH life's good. 8D

_Anywhich_, I just read the little summary I wrote a while ago of what happens at the end (I've written it in note form, go me) and was like OMG really? O: …yes, I'd forgotten what happens. xD

_Anywhat,_ let's get onto the story.

…

…_anywho_.

* * *

Chapter 18 - Child

_Yes, just enough that it wouldn't happen again. You still know deep down what you feel for me, and the punishment will only make that stronger. I've got you wrapped around my little finger, and you can't escape._

OxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxxOxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxoxoxoxxO

"Ungh… my head hurts…"

I cracked my eyes open only to be blinded by sunlight. It was so bright and it only made my headache worse. I'd had the worst night in forever and this hangover sucked beyond belief. I sat up, with a groan, rubbing my eyes. My throat tasted of sick and it felt like I'd been punched in the stomach about fifty times.

Slowly, I rolled out of bed and flumped onto the floor. I needed to get rid of this taste from my mouth and the throbbing pain in my head, so I stumbled all the way into the kitchen, clutching my head.

Opened the cupboard. Pills. Glass. Water. Excellent.

I turned round to head back to bed with my water when I was suddenly shocked by one of the most terrible sights in the world:

Naruto.

"Whathehllaryuudooenharrr?" I mumbled. (Translation: "What the hell are you doing here?") Clearly the alcohol was still happily slurring away at my speech. _Oh shit… _ I looked down to check I was wearing something. Ah phew, there was a pair of jeans on me.

Naruto laughed. _Shut up, damn you… not so loud…_ I sipped some water from my glass, in hope that it may somehow console my pain and suffering.

"You don't remember?" he laughed, in a mocking voice. "_I_ had to carry you back, you were so wasted! Hahaha. I don't think I've ever seen you so pissed in my life! You couldn't have been more stoned if you'd tried!"

"What are you? Some kind of slang thesaurus? Shut up and get out my house."

Naruto folded his arms. "Actually, this is _my_ house. _You _ managed to lose your key last night!"

Was it…? I looked around.

"Bollocks to that," I grunted. Could this day be even more shitty?

I trundled back to the bedroom.

Oh crap.

"Wait…" I said, suspiciously, stopping where I was. "I woke in your bed…! Where the f-"

"Oh GOD no!" he said, shocked and amused, "I slept on the couch! Not with YOU! That would be disgusting! Ew!"

I sighed with relief. Well, seeing as I'd already made as much of an idiot of myself as possible, I slumped down into a chair and sipped more water.

"You look like death," he observed.

"Shut up," I said. "And just tell me what the hell happened."

He explained to me that at the sake bar last night with him and Sakura, I'd drunk myself stupid, thrown up on the bar, called Sakura fat, and then got beaten repeatedly in the stomach by her. Oh, so that explained why my stomach felt like it had been punched. It probably also contributed to the frequent vomiting. I'd had to dash to the bathroom a couple of times during Naruto's explanation, which was really not so great.

"But it's true, though," I grumbled, "She has been putting on a load of weight recently."

Naruto looked thoughtful for a moment (a rare occurrence). "I hadn't noticed."

"Well, that's because you're an idiot. You don't notice things."

"I do, too!"

"No you don't. Shut up." I took a disgruntled sip of my water.

"Hmmm…" he said in his most irritating voice. "Maybe Sakura-chan's pregnant-"

I sprayed him with water. "You WHAT now?"

"Hey! Ugh! Now I have Sasuke spit all over me! Teme!"

"Get over it. Anyway, there's no way in hell she's pregnant. Why would anyone want to sleep with her?"

_Why would they, hm?_

"She does have a boyfriend, you know," he said, desperately trying to wipe the water off his hideous orange jacket with some kitchen roll.

"I know that, baka."

"So, didn't it cross your mind they might have sex?"

"Shut up."

_You know about the birds and the bees, don't you?_

"Oooh," he said, mocking me, "Just cause you wish YOU were the lucky guy. Haha, too bad you're a virgin!"

"Fuck off."

"Hahaha just because I got my cherry popped before you!"

"Don't make me sick." That could be difficult for him. Just the thought of him doing… ugh. He'd finally noticed the way that shy Hyuuga girl always gawked at him. He's so dense, it took him five years to notice. Well, they are a couple now and quite frankly, I don't understand what she sees in him. Each to their own, I suppose.

"Well," he said, "Even if she _is_ pregnant, I'm happy for her. She'd be an awesome mother."

_You didn't use contraception…_

I groaned and held my head. This shocking revelation had better not be true. I hoped Sakura _was_ just fat. It had been six months since… well. But even so, what were the chances that I…? The times could fit… but she had started going out with this guy shortly after that day. I found it difficult to look at her and I knew that any feelings she had had for me had been shot through.

She never said she hated me, but I could see it in her eyes. For the first few weeks, she never spoke to me. If ever I caught her eye, she just looked… fragile. Betrayed. I guess I had betrayed her, but what did it matter to me - it was just a fit of delusion on my part. Besides, she should be happy because I'd finally given her what she had always wanted. Anyway, later she began to talk to me, but never out of her own choice. She was cold to me. She'd dropped the "-kun" from my name, which was a bonus, I guess, and I found myself feeling a lot less irritated now that she had stopped bothering me, although it _was _weird not being worshipped every second of the day.

I sighed, stood up and headed to the bathroom. "I'm taking a shower. Don't come near, or I _will_ disembowel you."

"Believe me," he said, "I wouldn't come near you naked if my life depended on it."

"Whatever…"

In the shower, I had time to replay the past six months in my mind. I had woken in the hospital in Konoha. They told me I'd been found unconscious in the forest, stark naked. I didn't want to know who had found me, but I made it very clear that if that person so much as thought of telling anyone about it, I would personally murder them.

I remember feeling so numb. Was it from the pain? Itachi had used some really bizarre and scarily realistic genjutsu on me and it had freaked me out so much when I woke to find I wasn't dead. My mind was blank, my body felt empty. Everything about me was just so… lost – for lack of a better word. I hadn't forgotten what had happened and God, I wished it hadn't. Everyone else believed me when I told them I'd been trapped in the genjutsu of "an Akatsuki member" and left, and they knew nothing of what else had happened that day. I doubted very much that Sakura would want to tell anyone.

Somehow, I had managed to slip back into my normal life in Konoha. At first, I was so furious at Itachi. How dare he do that to me! How dare he hurt me! And then… then… leave me like that! The anger progressed into some sort of a depression. It was my fault he'd gone. I'd been a total prat for letting my hormones get the better of me in the presence of Sakura. I was an idiot even moreso for doing it there, where anyone – namely _him_ – could see. I felt betrayed by _him_ because he had just pissed off like that without saying where he was going. He had seemed so interested in me before he had thrown his tantrum and buggered off.

Just then, the water ran cold. I cussed as I switched it off and leapt out to grab a towel. I shuddered. And then I was sick again.

Sadly, we had to train that day, despite my hangover, so I filled myself up with various painkillers and medicines until I was all drugged up and ready to go. As I combed my hair, I saw myself properly in the mirror. Naruto had been right earlier when he had said I "looked like death". I was as white as a sheet and my eyes were sunken back in my skull with some jolly little bloodshot veins running round the edges like a ribbon round a cake. I tried to make my hair look as best it could to try to counter my zombie-like appearance.

Equally sadly, I'd managed to throw up on my Uchiha shirt the night before, so I had to borrow something of Naruto's. I wore the subtlest blue high-neck sleeveless shirt I could find and we both set off to the training grounds together. He was annoying, so I forbade him from talking to me.

To cut a long story short, I had a shit day's training. My hand-eye coordination was pitiful and I couldn't think sharply enough to fight my best. I still beat Naruto, but only just. It would be a real blow to my pride if he had won and some part of my woozy brain held onto that and made me win.

Though, something weird did happen. Once we'd all split and begun making our separate ways home (I had come to the conclusion I'd have to break a window to get into my house), I was stopped. Sakura stood in front of me. Wow, she _was_ fat.

"Sasuke," she said, firmly.

"I'm not in the mood for this," I dismissed her, walking past. Annoyingly, she followed. I stared ahead in the hope that she would piss off once she saw I wasn't interested in whatever petty thing she had to say.

"Listen to me," she said, an intonation of warning in her voice. "…this is important…"

I sighed irritably. I just wanted to get home and nurse my aching head.

"Sasuke."

"Leave me alone."

She grabbed my shoulder.

"Sasuke, I'm carrying your child!" There was such sincerity in her eyes; I was a little taken aback. They were glazed and her lip trembled. It took a moment for the news to hit me. Suddenly the pain in my head doubled, quadrupled, squared and cubed.

I turned round to hide the look of shock on my face. I couldn't believe it.

"How do you know it doesn't belong to that _boyfriend_ of yours?" I uttered in a low voice.

"I… we… we haven't got th-that far…" Oh great, that annoying stuttery thing that girls do. Brilliant. That will ease the stress of this situation so well.

Shit… what was I to do now? She was to have an Uchiha child. _I hope it's a boy._ Shut up, brain. My baby. Jesus Christ, we were seventeen years old!! And how the fuck was I meant to act? It's not like she and I were a happy couple. The kid would grow up in a loveless family. Unless her "boyfriend" said it was his. But hell no would I let him claim it. The baby was mine. Besides, it would be suspicious if some ordinary guy's kid suddenly developed Sharingan.

My next worry was Itachi. I wanted the kid – it belonged to me! But I knew also that it had to go. Itachi would never speak to me again if he knew Sakura had had my child. _He's not even speaking to you now, idiot._ I turned back round to her.

"Abort it," I said simply, with a passive expression. Behind that façade though, I gritted my teeth and tried desperately to stop myself from showing any emotion.

Her eyes widened and she exclaimed, "Are you crazy? This baby is a _person_! It's six months old! I … that would be _killing_ it…"

Don't put it that way. "It would be better for me if you-"

"Oh for God's sake, Sasuke!" she said, tears finally breaking out. "Stop thinking of yourself all the bloody time! There is a _life _inside me! Something that we _created_! It doesn't deserve to die just because 'it would be better for you'. Get over yourself! You're going to be a father!"

"What, so I get no say in this, huh?" I said, beginning to get angry.

"O-of course you do! But unless you can come up with a very _valid_ reason why this baby should be abort- no, _murdered_, then it stays!"

I narrowed my eyes at her word use. "Your boyfriend," I spat.

"He has a name, you know! And I know that Seguchi will support me all the way!"

"Yeah, sure, whatever. That baby's been alive longer than your relationship. I hardly think that will work out, do you? You haven't even had sex yet."

"What I do and don't do is none of your business," she said, her voice laced with acid, "I don't give up my body so easily."

"You seemed pretty eager with me," I smirked.

"Don't say that! …I loved you, Uchiha Sasuke! You just used me for your own pleasure. You're sick, you know that? I hope no one else ever loves you again, because that would be most unfortunate for them!"

I folded my arms and looked down my nose at her. "I-" I didn't want to make myself appear weak. At this point, I had to keep myself composed in order to stay on top of the situation. "I pity you. Emotions only open you up for attack. You had it coming. I don't have time for such petty things as 'love'."

She was crying. "There is something seriously wrong with you! What kind of a life is this child going to live when its father doesn't even care?"

She stood there, staring at me with an angry but hurt expression. It wouldn't work on me.

"Look…" she said resolutely, wiping her eyes and straightening up. "I'm going to have a scan… you probably don't care enough to come… well, you won't want to, but-"

"I do."

That surprised her. "Wh-what? Why?"

"It's mine."

"Ours."

"…"

"I'm going to the hospital tomorrow at eleven."

"Whatever," I said, already walking away.

I heard her sniff and could sense her confusion. Then she leapt up onto the roofs, leaving me alone at last.

Holy shit, I was going to be a father.

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**Author's Note:** Teme is Japanese for "bastard". Naruto calls Sasuke that a lot. And Sasuke often calls Naruto "baka", meaning "stupid", or "idiot". He also sometimes graces him with the name "usuratonkachi", which doesn't actually mean anything that makes sense. I think some part of it literally translates as some vegetable that I can't remember. It may have been onions. I dunno. Let's just pretend it's onions. Yes. Sasuke frequently calls Naruto an onion. 

And Sasuke says "Jesus Christ" for effect, because I felt it was the only phrase that accurately voiced his feelings. I don't know what his religion is (don't yell at me. Is it tao?)… xD Well, if you're offended by this, I'm sorry.

This was a long chapter! I'm so into it atm! I'm already writing the next chapter!


	19. Sweet Submission

**The Perfect Plan**

**ItaSasu**

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**Author's Note:** Long delay… o.o Well I reread a couple of chapters today. The cooking one mainly, and the lemon before I got embarrassed and stopped. xD I really like the cooking chapter actually. Heheh. I… can't really think of anything to say now, so I'll just go ahead and write the chapter. 

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Chapter 19 – Sweet Submission

"You're crushing my hand, Sakura-chan!!"

"WAAAAAH!"

"…"

These are the first words to reach its ears. Its little ears. It was scooped into the arms of a medic-nin clad in white, who cut the cord and bathed it.

…it was so small…

I was nudged out of the way as the medic carried it round to the mother. Naruto stepped back on the other side of the bed, nursing his red, mangled fingers and I leant coolly against the wall, observing.

The girl reached out to receive the child. Its eyes opened as her hands touched it. And at that moment, its eyes made direct contact with mine.

Wow.

Something weird happened to me just then. I realized how real the baby was. It was a real person. I had given life to it.

"Congratulations, you have a lovely little boy," the medic smiled and Sakura cradled it in her arms.

He was so small and so delicate. I couldn't believe my eyes. The revival of the Uchiha clan – he was the key to it – and my job was to protect him and teach him. I watched his tiny hands opening and closing and legs twitching as he figured out how to use his limbs. As he was rested down in Sakura's arms, he looked around, confused for a moment, before bursting into tears.

I stepped forward and looked down at the baby. "Taro," I stated.

Sakura glanced up at me, "What?"

I closed my eyes, a little irritated that she didn't understand. "His name."

She looked back down at the baby. My baby. "…Taro…" she mused, stroking the baby's small amount of dark hair back and I could tell she didn't like the name. It was the role of the father to choose the baby's name, so she was unable to disagree with me and I smirked to myself.

"He's so cute!" Naruto exclaimed. "Can I hold him? Can I hold him?"

"No," I said firmly, stepping nearer to the bed. He's _mine_. A person I had created. "I want to hold him."

"Wrap him in this," suggested the medic, holding up a white toweled blanket. I watched as Sakura lifted the crying baby so that the medic nin could fold the blanket around him. Then, she held the baby out to me.

I reached for him, then froze. Wait… how do you hold a baby…?

Naruto laughed out loud, clutching his side (which I thought was a bit excessive), "You look like such an idiot!" and even Sakura laughed a little. I frowned, humiliated and pissed off.

The medic nin helped me by telling me what to do. "Hold his body on your arm like that, there… and make sure you support his little head in your hand, that's very important. Good. And just, that's right, put your other arm around like that. Lovely."

Taro… He wriggled around in my arms a little and grabbed a tight handful of my shirt. I stood there awkwardly, wondering what to do. I might look a bit stupid if I tried to rock him.

"Be quiet," I said, starting to get a headache from Taro's wailing. Unfortunately he continued, if not louder than before.

Sakura laughed at me, damnit, "He's just a baby, Sasuke. Relax, you're so stiff. He'll sense your discomfort."

I tried to relax a little. I concentrated on holding him as best I could. I became aware of just how warm he was, and so light too. Lighter than I had expected. He had a little round face, the tiniest mouth and nose and two huge, dark eyes. He had my eye colour. Hair colour too. Excellent. He was a true Uchiha. I wondered how old he would be when he acquires his first stage Sharingan. I was so deep in thought that I didn't realize Taro had stopped crying.

"Hey, he likes the teme," Naruto gasped, annoyingly shocked.

I felt a woosh of pride returning to me: I stopped the kid crying. Not Sakura. Or the medic. Me. _I must be a natural at this,_ I thought smugly.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

The next time I saw him must have been almost a year later. He was asleep. Obviously, because it was all part of the plan. I walked slowly over his futon, watching him, fidgeting. I extended my arm and dropped the pill down into his open mouth. As expected, it fizzed slightly before dissolving and sliding down his throat. He wouldn't wake for another eight hours.

I crouched down beside him, wrapped him in his covers and lifted him across my arms before making my way calmly back to the open window.

Noiselessly, we moved over the roofs above the sleeping town and within moments were over the wall and in the forest, undetected. It took an hour to get to the meeting point and I arrived first. Seconds later though, I was joined by Kisame. He wasn't the stealthiest in Akatsuki (I was), but it was easier for him than Deidara or Sasori. For example, Sasori is extremely slow when kitted out in all his puppet skins and Deidara's techniques are as far from stealthy as one could imagine. So Kisame was the only choice left.

Anyway, Kisame carried a bundle of boy too and we made off with our hostages in the direction of our rebuilt base. It was located on a small island off the west coast of the Water Country. With ease, we dashed across the sea to our base. From where we were, it would take six hours to get there. We ran, unhindered and arrived outside the concealed cave entrance.

I had much preferred the old base because it was somewhat comfortable and homey. This one was rocky, cold and stank of fish. Kisame loved it.

After releasing the seals on the cave opening, we entered, carrying our captives towards the cells. It would be another hour before he woke, I mused, as I placed him in his cell.

On he slept, ignorant that he'd just been carried over the sea in just his nightwear and bedsheets. I pulled back the sheets a little, curious as to what he was wearing. A simple black t-shirt. Folding the cotton fabric back further, I discovered he had on black shorts. It looked like he had just gone to bed without changing. I raised my eyebrows at the thought and wondered why – had he been in a rush? Wanted to be all ready and dressed for the next day? Or was he so tired he didn't care?

I heard footsteps and in the doorway stood Kisame. He had already locked up his hostage in the other, much higher security cell.

I wanted to be there when Sasuke woke up, but I knew there were other things that needed to be tended to, so, reluctantly, I tucked the sheets under his chin and left him, locking the heavy door behind him. As I did, I felt a sudden rush of excitement. The next stage of my perfect plan was now in motion.

Both of us went to our beds to catch the three or so hours of sleep we could before we had to be up again.

One time, I woke to the sound of distant cries... I smiled before rolling over and going back to sleep.

We were all up early to eat and discuss the actions of the day. There was myself, Kisame, Deidara, Sasori, Zetsu, Hidan, Kakuzu and Tobi. The leader was "on business" as he had put it and we were always unsure of when he would return. The food had been prepared by two women we had captured from the Lightning country (neither was a shinobi, so they were easy to take care of). Sometimes we used the women for ourselves in ways other than cooking and cleaning, which was a bonus as they couldn't fight back.

Once Zetsu had returned from taking the women back to their cells, we began business.

"So today's the day we finally finish this, yeah," Deidara stated, reaching for the water jug.

"About damn time," Sasori interjected, "Seven years. I don't like to be kept waiting all the time."

Kisame joined in, his mouth full of raw fish (he chose to eat that while the rest of us ate _normal_ food), "Yeah, it took long enough. I'm tired of never knowing what's going through the Leader's mind."

I watched Tobi. He had removed his mask. Underneath was a young face, with dark brown eyes. He was only seventeen years old, but due to his lack of education and life growing up without family, he always behaved like a ten-year-old. Don't get me wrong, he was a powerful shinobi, but sometimes his childishness could get irritating.

"Tobi's a good boy," he muttered and he put the food in his mouth, obviously having completely overlooked his chopsticks.

Anyway, we discussed the way we would conduct our day's business and when. Six o'clock was to be the time it began. That is, the acquirement of the Kyuubi.

After eating, I walked over to the cellblock, keen to see how my little brother was faring. I unlocked the chakra-eating door and opened it a crack. He was sat casually in the corner and I saw the light shining on his piercing gaze.

"So it's you," he said in a monotonous voice.

I shut the door behind me before leaning against it. Inside his new cell there was a chakra-induced artificial light. The bricks in the walls glowed dimly, casting a faint green light on its two inhabitants.

"Why did you bring me here?"

I watched him. He was irritated.

"What do you want with me _now_?"

I smiled slightly, amused, as he stood up and walked up to me, stopping right in front of me.

He stared, awaiting an answer that I did not give.

He sighed, frustrated. "Itachi…"

I knew he was angry, but there was something else… he seemed awkward, nervous… Excellent.

"Where am I?"

I pushed my hair back from my eyes and watched him curiously as he now paced up and down. He glanced over.

"Answer my fucking questions."

"Don't tell me what to do," I said calmly, matter-of-fact-ly, and smiled as he shuddered.

Licking my dry lips, I asked, "How have you been?"

I was further amused to see how thrown he was by this.

"Hungry?" I questioned.

"…what do you care?" he spat.

"No? And to think I was going to bring you something. Never mind then."

He grunted, annoyed still.

I stared at him for a moment, taking in his facial features, his mannerisms, how he moved. Surprisingly, he reminded me of myself. I noticed him now clenching his fists.

"Calm down," I said simply. He glared back and then jumped a little as I moved over to his bedsheet before sitting down cross-legged and making myself comfortable on it. "Why don't you sit."

Obstinately, he chose to stand.

"Fair enough," I sighed, before getting to the point, "Tell me about Kyuubi."

"…what?" He looked wary.

"What do you know about it?"

He was quiet.

"You_ do _know what it-"

"Yes! Of course I do!" He sounded like a stubborn child.

"Then talk."

"Why?"

I stared forwards, leaning back on my hands and acting relaxed in order to annoy him.

"_Why, _Itachi?" he urged, with that sound in his voice that reminded me of a child desperate for attention.

I looked over at him.

He stood up straight and folded his arms, "I won't say anything."

I sighed and got up. "Fair enough. I'll go."

I walked to the door.

"No!"

…I smiled to myself, looking back at him out of the corner of my eye. That's what I wanted to hear. "Oh…?" I said.

He stood stiffly, fists clenched by his sides.

_Time for some fun_… I thought, turning and walking over to him, stopping right before him.

"You want me to stay…?"

He looked up at me, putting on his brave face, but I saw through it. I sensed his longing. As I lifted my hand, he bit his lip hard. Shocked, scared or excited, I didn't care which. I just watched the little bead of red wobbling on his bottom lip… it looked delicious. I raised my eyebrows slightly as I noticed his eyes glued to my rising hand. He swallowed. In a fluid motion, I pressed my thumb over the droplet of blood, holding it against his lip.

In reaction, he flinched slightly and looked at me, wide-eyed. I ran my thumb down his chin, drawing a vertical line of blood down it, causing his mouth to open slightly. I loved how subservient he was.

He tried to move toward me, but I put a finger over his mouth and stopped him. Inwardly, I was smiling. I was in control. I bent my head down, moving closer to his face and stopped, an inch away and moved my hand to hold his jaw firmly between my thumb and index finger.

"Tell me about Kyuubi," I breathed.

He shivered a little, still wide-eyed. "I… I don't know much…"

"Tell me."

"It- It is powerful…"

No kidding.

"Where is it?" I asked, calmly.

"…sealed… away…"

"In a person?"

"…yeah."

I knew everything about the Kyuubi already, more than he did, but I _so_ enjoyed his sweet submission.

"Who is it sealed inside?" I asked, holding his jaw tighter, pressing my fingers hard into his cheek.

"Ngh," he grunted, lifting his arms and holding onto my wrist with both his hands, "…in…"

"Say it."

"…Naruto…"

Good boy.

I smiled triumphantly and leant in as I licked his bittersweet blood from his chin to his lip. He gasped a little as I ran my tongue over his lip once, to catch all the blood. To reward him, I tipped my head and pressed my lips to his, kissing him. I tasted the blood as it mixed in with the hot saliva and it was fantastic.

That was all though. I let go and turned round, casually, as if nothing had happened and made my way back to the door.

"Wait…" he said, "Wait!"

This time I ignored him and shut the door behind me, not looking back. He was mine once again.

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**Author's note: ** Wow that took ages to write… Well… yay! Itachi: 1,000,000 - Sasuke: nil. 

Well, I am too lazy to put anything here _or _proof-read cause its 1am and I have school tomorrow. xD I hope you enjoyed the (rather late) chapter and please review and let me know what you thought!

Check out my deviantart account: adeacia dot deviantart dot com – I drew Sasuke and Sakura's baby! Hehehe (the image is called "+ UchihaHaruno Baby +")

Thank you for reading! xxx


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